The Secrets of the Dark Woods Circus
by Kassi-chan 8D
Summary: A normal teenage schoolgirl...a deformed circus diva...what will happen when two worlds collide? And what secrets does this circus hold...? Enter the Dark Woods Circus...if you dare...
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

**_Deep into the woods,_**

**_Far, far in the back that way_**

**_There is a circus_**

**_The chairman with the big eyes and ten meters tall_**

**_All of the cast is jolly_**

**_Their forms are rather strange_**

**_But its so fun!_**

**_The Dark Woods Circus…_**

The Dark Woods Circus was something of the oddest of the odd, to say the least.

It was filled with strange oddities that you'd really only see once in a lifetime.

The performers, and everything…so strange.

It seemed like a wondrous place…

But if you really saw inside it.

You would think much differently.

You saw the children,

You saw them,

You'd think that this place was fun for them, right?

The way the smiled so brightly,

Is it the truth?

**_The deformity…_**

**_DEFORMITY!_**

Yes, deformed.

But were they really like that in the first place?

You'd have to find that out for yourself.

One wrong step, and they'd have to bare the worse punishments.

Just one step.

One wrong move.

It surely is a dangerous place, as all these children were once innocent passerby's.

Then…

They were forced into this circus.

This circus isn't a playhouse, not even close.

These children were normal kids one day,

One day far past.

But what happens when two worlds collide?

A normal teenage girl,

A deformed circus diva?

You shall find out…

**_Enter the Dark Woods Circus…_**

**_IF YOU DARE…_**


	2. Chapter 1

-~-Chapter 1-~-

* * *

**~June~**

* * *

**_"_****_RINNNNNNNNNNNG!"_**

Oh! There's the school bell! The hallways suddenly crowded, and the doors of the classrooms nearly burst from all the kids, pushing and shoving just to get out of this torture house!

NO MORE TESTS! NO MORE YELLING TEACHERS! NO MORE SCHOOL!

We had to drag _everything_ home today. All our books, supplies, et cetera. Luckily, being normal teenagers, we'd lost half the stuff we started out with at the beginning of the school year, so it wasn't that bad. I packed everything up, and said bye to my friends, and bye to my teachers, too.

Later, my friends, Aimi, Chiyo, Aki, and Mei, and I were talking on the bench, outside the school. We were waiting for our parents to come pick us up, but we weren't really, since we were having fun here already! (But, obviously, we had to go home.)

"Did you hear about the circus in town?" Chiyo asked.

"No, what circus?" Aimi asked. "I-I mean what's it called? I never knew there was a circus in town."

"Uhh, I kinda forgot what it was called…." Chiyo said. "I guess I can check later when I get home."

"Oh, I heard about that!" I said. "Yeah, my little cousin wants to go there after school. I'm probably gonna go too."

"NO NO NO!" Aki randomly yelled. "I mean, I've heard it, but CIRCUSES HAVE CLOWNS."

"Yeah, so your point is?" I asked.

"CLOWNS. ARE. SCARY."

"Not really." Mei replied.

"YES, REALLY!" Aki screamed. "CLOWNS HIDE IN YOUR CLOSET AT NIGHT! And…THEN…THEY…GRAB YOU. A-AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?! THEY SLAUGHTER YOU." Chiyo sighed.

"Totally regret showing her that clown movie." Aimi shrugged.

"Even if it was _two years_ ago."

"Yup." Mei nodded in agreement.

"Now I don't regret being sick that day!" I said.

"You're lucky, Kassi-chan." Aki shuddered. "You missed the clowns." Chiyo sighed, and her car came up next in the car line.

"Oh, I'm up! I'll see you guys later! Bye!"

"Bye, Chiyo-chan!" We all said in unison.

"How'd that happen?" Mei asked, through laughs.

"WE'RE CONNECTED." Aimi gasped.

"Haha, no." I ruined it, with a smile!

"Meh." Aki said. "…OH NO!"

"What?" Mei asked.

"I don't see a clown." Aimi said.

"I forgot!" Aki groaned.

"Forgot what?" I asked. "School's over, there's no homework."

"No, no!" Aki said. "I forgot to tell Chiyo about the sleepover!"

"What…sleepover…?" Mei, Aimi, and I all said in unison.

"Seriously, we're magically connected through our minds." Aimi claimed.

"Now it seems legit." I said.

"Oh! I'm planning to have a sleepover on Sunday." Aki explained. "It's just going to be us, and I forgot to tell Chiyo-chan…"

"Can't you just text her?" Mei asked.

"GENIUS." I said. Aki seemed to hesitate.

"Oh no…don't tell us…you left your phone in your locker?" Aimi sighed.

"No, it's right here!" Aki said, and took out her phone.

**_HI HI HI!_**

**_I forgot to tell you, Chiyo-chan, that I'm planning on having a sleepover on Sunday. Hope you can make it~!_**

"There, sent." Aki announced, and tossed a phone a bit, just barely catching it.

"No phone tossing, Aki-chan." Mei said. "You remember how long you were grounded." My phone then rang…with a text! From my aunt?

**_Kassidy-chan, I'm sorry, but Rima can't make it to the circus today, she has a surprise meeting for her drama class today._**

"Okaaaaaay…" I said out loud. "Rima's not coming, apparently. Do one of you want to go—?"

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO! NOPE! NEVER!" Aki screamed.

"This is getting a bit too far…" Aimi whispered to Mei and I. "Anyway, I would _love _to go, but I have a dance competition today. Sorry!"

"And I have a party to go to!" Mei cheered. "So I can't come either."

"I know you don't want to come, huh, Aki-chan?"

"NOPE!"

"What if there weren't any clowns?"

"Please, Kassi-chan. There are, and will be, clowns."

"You suuuuuuure?"

"POSITIVE." I shrugged.

"Ah, there's my car. Bye guys! I'll see you on Sunday!"

"Bye!" This time it wasn't in unison, but more overlapped.

I got into the car, same-old-same-old. Same old conversation, too.

"How was your day?" My Mom asked.

"Meh, it was okay." 'Okay' in Teenager Language means 'IT WAS CRAZY' in simple terms. She nodded, and we drove out.

"How was your last day of school?"

_"__Isn't that the same question, with two more words stuck in between?"_ I thought to myself. I decided to reveal just a bit more.

"It was _CRAZY!_ Oh, and Aki-chan invited me to her sleepover on Sunday, just thought you should know. That's…pretty much it." We were both silent on the way back home. In fact, the only noise was going on inside my head, and that the car radio was blasting music. As soon as we got home, I ran up to my bedroom. I blasted some music, and started to do a happy dance. I mean, I earned it! I survived the whole year! NO REGRETS! I I danced like a crazy person, then I practically passed out, after dancing for…_AN HOUR?!_

_"__Hmm, I guess I should go get ready to go to that circus now? I mean, even if Rima-chan isn't going, why shouldn't I go? I'm curious about it, too. There probably aren't any clowns there, right? Hah, Aki-chan and her weird fear…I wonder how scary that video was." _

I changed my clothes into something a bit more presentable then my school uniform. A cute tank and a pink mini-skirt! I WAS READY. I grabbed my purse, and the flyer, which had a map on it, so that was useful…but I didn't really bother looking at it yet, and stuffed it into my purse.

"Bye, Mom! Going for a little walk!" Yeah, 'walk'. I ran into the forest, and pulled out the map.

**_THE DARK WOODS CIRCUS_**

Oh, that's what it was called! I totally forgot.

_"__Hmm, should be around that way…"_

* * *

YEY! 8D

My first chapter! Well, real chapter anyway.

I hope you guys enjoyed it~

Comments, suggestions, etc? Please tell me with a review! w

Thank you~! OwO


	3. Chapter 2

-~-Chapter 2-~-

* * *

**_"_****_Clip clop clip clop clip clop…"_**

The horses' steps were loud, and all in unison. I wished I could look out the window, why'd they blindfold me like that? And why are my legs in such pain? All I knew was that I had gone to the hospital, (at least, I think it was a hospital…) for something, and now I'm in a carriage, blindfolded, with numb legs.

"A-Are…are we almost there…?" I asked, not knowing if there was even anyone else in the carriage car with me. "H-Hello…? Anyone…" Hmm, apparently not, or could be that they were just very rude. I guess I'll never know. "Is my Mama or my Papa here…? Arata-kun? Ayumu-kun…?" The only things I could make out were the horse's clipping and clopping, and the beating of my own heart. It was fast, a racing speed. I didn't know what would come next, even without the blindfold, I would be completely clueless. "Please…someone answer me…" It was useless. There wasn't anyone here, was there? I wanted my Mama…my Papa…my two little brothers…I felt it, I was sobbing a bit…which I tried to stop, but I couldn't. The blindfold was getting really wet from all my tears, and it was even more uncomfortable. But I couldn't take it off, in case, there was someone else here.

**_"_****_Clip clop clip clop clip"_**

The horses stopped, and one of them neighed.

"Am I here? Where am I?" I heard a slight conversation, probably with two men. I couldn't hear it very well, though, and yet, perfectly clear.

"Yes, yes, I've got a fine one, that's right!"

_"__Fine what? Was he talking about the horses?"_

"Ah…let me see her…"

_"__The horse, right? But if he came here to sell his horse, why was I here?"_

"I'm sure you'll like her…she's _very _much perfect for your circus."

_"__The horses are going to be in a circus? Ooh, was I here to watch?"_

I saw a bright light shining through the blindfold, into my eyes.

"What?! She has…goat's legs…?"

"Yes, sir!"

_"__Goat legs…what? Did he mean 'fine legs'? Talking about the horse, still…I guess I just moved my head, and the light was shining through the window…"_

"Let me see her…" I got picked up, and carried outside. "Yup, she'll be a great addition to my circus…thank you for your time."

_"__Circus…? I was being added to a circus…?"_

"Very well, I must depart now." The horses clip-clopped away, leaving me behind.

"Well, we must get you in now." He grabbed my arm, and none too gently. He dragged me, _literally_, and shoved me into a cage. For some reason, I couldn't maintain my balance walking to that cage, for usually, when playing balance games with my two brothers, I beat them both.

"Hello?" I asked. I didn't expect to hear a voice back, but I did.

"You're here! You're here!" Two voices, combining as one, shouted.

"Who are you…?" I heard it, they were two voices, a male and a female.

"I'm Rin," said the female, "And I'm Len." Said the male. "Who are you?" They both asked.

"M-Me…?" I studdered.

"Of course, who else?" Asked Rin.

"Kaito-kun, of course, but he doesn't talk. He's the cannibal we have at the circus by the way. The 'Blue Monster', they say." Len said.

"I-I'm Miku…."

"Well, Miku-san…WELCOME TO THE DARK WOODS CIRCUS!" They both shouted. One was more gleeful, but I couldn't tell which.

"We're two people with one body!" Rin said.

"If you don't mind, what's your deformity?" Len asked.

_"__D-Deformity?!"_

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm not deformed, I'm perfectly normal…"

"Well, if you're here as a performer, which you are," Len explained, "you have to be deformed! Like us, or mentally deformed, like Kaito-kun."

"She has goats' legs..." Rin whispered to Len.

"H-HUH?!" I panicked. "GOATS' LEGS?!"

"She might also be mentally deformed…" Rin whispered again.

"I am not!" I said, offended. "Can one of you please take this blindfold off of me…please?"

"Sure." Len said, and he took it off. My vision was blurry at first, and when it cleared up, I saw a horrible sight. It was true…

_"__I…have goats' legs?! No, this must be a dream, right? An awfully real dream…I'm perfectly normal! It must be my brothers playing around with me again…"_ But it was real, alright. Both Rin and Len were perfectly real, my legs were perfectly real, too. I was in a cold steel cage, and Rin and Len were standing outside, in front of it.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE, SOMEONE! PLEASE!" I cried. "Please…"

"Don't cry, Miku-san…" Len said.

"Yeah, you'll see!" Rin started.

**_"_****_This circus is the best, most fun thing in the world!"_**

* * *

DUN DUN DUN!

Yeah, if you haven't already realized, this one takes place from Miku's point of view. o3o

I dunno, random change. Usually, it'll be from my—er—Kassidy's point of view though.

YEAH, SELF NAMED CHARACTER! PROBLEM? XD

Well, that's pretty much it for this one. :P

I'll see you in the next chapter!

Byeeeee~

~Kassi-chan~

Comments, suggestions, etc? Reviews, please~! :3


	4. Chapter 3

-~-Chapter 3-~-

* * *

**_"_****_I believe I'm nearing my destination…"_**

I heard people chattering in the distance, unless I'm more near my home and the city, and nowhere near my actual destination. Although I'm pretty sure I looked at that map correctly…what if I had it upside down?! Nope, it's right.

I saw the tip of a red tent over a tree, and as I got closer, it got bigger.

"WELCOME TO THE DARK WOODS CIRCUS!" Someone said over the speakers. "PREPARE FOR THE WORLD'S ODDEST ODDITIES!"

"Eh?" I wondered out loud. "Hmm, I guess I'm in the right spot…" I continued wondering closer, and closer…

**_"_****_YOU'RE HERE, YOU'RE HERE!"_**

"Who, me?" I asked. I turned, and saw a pair of two heads…and one body. Wait, what?! "GAH! TWO HEADED MAN!"

"Excuse me, but I'm a girl." One of the heads said. Well, it had a female voice, and short hair, and basically, I could've probably guessed that on my own, but I'm too busy freaking out!

"I guess I'm the only man here." The other one said.

"What about Kaito-kun?" The other head asked.

"Meh, I guess, but here, right now." It responded.

"I'm sorry, but…" I couldn't think of what else to say. "Uhhhh…so what are you? Are you guys, like, twins or something?" They both nodded in unison…which was _creepy._

"Come!" The male head said.

"We'll show you around this circus!" The female said.

"O-Okay…"

**_"_****_There's us, the one with two heads,_**

**_A deformed diva with goats' legs,_**

**_And the blue beast who likes to eat things…cold…"_**

"Whoa…" I gasped, with wonder, shock, and about, oh, a million other emotions too. "So…this is what the Dark Woods Circus is all about, huh? A showcase of…" I didn't want to insult them, so I stopped.

"Uh, hello?" The female asked.

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" I yelped. "I, er, just…"

"I-It's okay. Were you trying to say that 'the Dark Woods Circus is all just a showcase of deformities'? Because you'd be right…" I nodded. I suddenly, randomly wondered why the male trailed off like that, unlike his twin sister, who seemed to be enjoying this circus? I'm not sure.

"Len-kun, we're going to have to greet the other visitors!" The girl said.

"Okay…uh, I guess we'll see you later?" Len said.

"That's a question? O-Okay." I waved. Then, I yelled, "My name is Kassidy, by the way!" I don't think they heard me though. But the male's name was Len, right? I think so, unless I heard wrong.

_"__They seem nice."_

**_"_****_Come and see the show!_**

**_Tonight we'll be showing,_**

**_The sad fate that some of this world carries._**

**_Children that God has abandoned restlessly creeping out._**

**_Children who can't even carry the trembling limbs they were born with._**

**_Their shaking tongues even accidently cry out._**

**_The crowns on their heads that caress the dark clouds._**

**_They smile as they dream of their mothers embrace._**

**_Ooh, the deformity._**

**_DEFORMITY!_**

**_Drop by and see them._**

**_Drop by and see them..."_**

The ringmaster's (I think) voice rang out loud and clear through the speakers. I decided to go see what I came here for. Okay, not really. _This_ was totally unexpected. But, well, I came here for a circus, right? And if this is the circus' point, I might as well take it…but those kids! Were they really born like that? I'm pretty sure they were around my age too…ah, I guess I'll have to see the show. Wait, but I don't have tickets. Did they even _have_ tickets?

_"__Hey, what's in this tent? There's a hole…should I look through it? Well, curiosity strikes again!" _I peeped through the hole, and saw a girl, around my age, I guess, she had long, pale teal hair, which was in two pigtails, and she was wearing a long, long, _LONG_, fancy pink dress, and she had detached black sleeves on both of her arms. _"Eh? Why is she here? I guess she looks pretty normal to me…"_

"Excuse me," Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"EH?!" I turned around, seeing two really tall people; one had silver hair, tied back in a ponytail, and was wearing a suit, and the other had blonde hair, also tied into a ponytail on the side, and she was wearing a blue dress. I'm pretty sure they were both female.

_"__Are they really that tall, or did I just shrink?"_

"I'm sorry miss, but we just wanted to ask if you were having a good time." The blonde one said.

"Did you see the show yet?" The sliver haired one asked.

"Uhh, yes, I guess I'm having a good time…and no, I didn't see the show. I don't have a ticket." They both laughed a bit.

"Ah, we don't have any tickets here!" The blonde one said.

"Yes, we're here for your enjoyment, no tickets required!" The other one said. I nodded.

"O-Kay." I guess I should go see the show anyway...

* * *

MUAHAHAHAH CLIFF HANGER ewe

Continued in chapter 4! (Next week)

This updates on Fridays! :3

Unless otherwise specified, since I might be busy. o3o

But yeah. Also goes for any future Fanfictions.

I hope you enjoyed it~

Also...

DID YOU KNOW THIS IS REAL?! D:

The story (this one or the ACTUAL Dark Woods Circus) isn't necessarily true, but I guess you could say it was "based off of true events". Or something like that. O_O

JUST GOOGLE "IS DARK WOODS CIRCUS REAL". IT SHALL POP UP.

UGH, SOME PEOPLE.

Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter! :3

~Kassi-chan~


	5. Chapter 4

-~-Chapter 4-~-

* * *

**_I _****_was in line for the show…_**

Frankly, there weren't many other people here. It was really just me, and about 4-5 other people, who pretty much acted like none of the others existed.

_"I wonder what'll happen…? Acrobats? Well, maybe half of this is a demented freak show, the other half might be a normal circus…?" _

"COME TO THE SHOW!" The sliver haired women said. "WE'RE OPENING NOW!" I was at the end of the line, and when all the adults came in, I gasped. The huge tent, and the blonde woman was in the middle of the ring, where the silver haired woman soon joined her.

"Sit, sit!" The blonde one said.

"Welcome to the Dark Woods Circus! Tonight, we'll be showing the sad fate some in this world carry…ooh, the deformity…" The silver haired woman said.

_"Didn't she already mention that over the speakers? Oh well."_

"I'm Yowane Haku, and this is my partner, Akita Neru!" The silver haired woman—er, Haku said. Neru simply waved.

"Now, you know us, let the show begin!" Neru exclaimed, and there were balloons and streamers everywhere. "First, we present to you, the one, with two heads!" I gasped. It was the kids…kid? I'm not sure. But I saw them before, when I first got to the circus! The girl had a huge grin, while Len had no expression whatsoever. I think he must be deep in thought or something. I thought I heard them say,

"Smile, Len!"

"Rin, how much longer until the show ends?"

"Does it matter? This circus is so fun~" Len didn't say anything else, and continued to frown. Well, there's an expression, I guess. I squinted, and saw that they were stitched together. Wait, _stitched…_so they were two separate people once? I silently gagged.

_"Who does that to people?!" _I was lost in thought, so I didn't really pay attention to any of their performance, unless they just stood there while Neru and Haku talked, and talked…and talked. I'm not sure, since I was staring at the top of the tent, and my thoughts were seemingly louder then any of their voices.

"Next, we present the deformed diva!" Haku said. A girl, who'd I'd also seen, through the peephole, walked out. I then saw why she was in this circus. Before, she was sitting so no one could see her legs, covered by that long dress, and now that she was standing up, I could see it.

_"Goats'…legs…?"_ She then had a microphone placed in front of her, and she was forced to sing. How forced, you ask? At first, she didn't want to sing, she refused to do anything for the two women…then…came the bucket. The bucket full of acid. Poured over her face, and she audibly cried. I gasped and winced, I couldn't bare to see that. Even for someone I don't even know! I did know, that no one should be treated like that. She then sang, through the pain and tears, the saddest song you'd ever hear. If you thought those breakup songs on the radio were sad, you'd never heard this. (Those songs are honestly not that sad anyway.) I had to pinch myself, so I wouldn't start to cry.

"Next, we present to you, the last one of the night, the blue beast!" Neru said. Haku dragged a boy out, in a strait-jacket. "…He likes to eat things cold."

"C'mon, eat!" Haku threw a arm at him. Yes, human. I gulped, and covered my eyes. Okay, a cannibal. I didn't see him eat it, luckily for my own stomach…

A couple minutes later, it was over.

"We hope you enjoyed the show!" Haku said. I guessed that all the kids were back in their tents. The adults loudly left the show, while I, being completely different, silently ran.

"Oh, you!" I heard a familiar voice.

"Eh?"

"Did you enjoy the show?" Oh, it was the girl again, Rin.

"I, uh…" I couldn't really say I enjoyed it, right? Then again, I didn't want to hurt their feelings…so I simply nodded.

"Ah~ I'm glad!" She smiled. I had a nervous smile on. Len was completely silent. "Did you see the others? I mean, of course you did, unless you didn't stay for the entire show."

"No, no I did!" I suddenly said.

"Oh, okay! Well, I guess we'll see you later, uhhh…"

"What?"

"No, no, nothing…"

"My name? It's Kassidy, but my friends tend to call me Kassi-chan."

"Oh! We'll see you later, Kassi-san. I'm Rin, by the way, and this is Len."

"Yeah, I know!"

"Wait, what?" Well, this is awkward.

"N-Nothing! Nice to meet you! I'll see you later! Okay, bye." I hid in the Port-a-Potty for a while. I'm sorry, nose. (It really did smell.) Five minutes later, I emerged. I walked around the circus a bit, even though there honestly wasn't that much to do, except talk to the kids. Most of the other people left, too. I could've sworn I was the only one left. Walking around, I suddenly heard a shriek.

**_"I WANT TO DIE!"_**

Eh? I decided to check it out. It was the girl again, the "deformed diva". I looked into her tent again, and she was in a cage.

"Please…I can't take it anymore…" She sobbed, and the twins, which I've decided to call them, were there too.

"Don't cry, Miku-san." Len said.

"How can you cry here?" Rin asked. "This circus is so fun, you'll see!"

"Fun…?" She asked. Rin nodded. I saw it all. (I felt like a ninja or a stalker or something…) I also wanted to speak out, but it felt like there was something in my throat, and I couldn't speak.

"YOU!"

"Me?" I asked. It was Haku, followed by Neru, and they weren't even talking to me. I still took a peep in the peephole, and the twins were suddenly gone, and the girl, Miku, looking directly at me, then at Haku.

"SING." I was completely silent. "NOW." Neru looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out, kind of like me. Miku looked shaken, and she didn't make a peep either. "I'LL HAVE TO GET THE ACID OUT IF YOU DON'T SING."

"E-Excuse me?" I asked.

"This ain't none of your business, kid! Stay out of it!" I got angry now, but all I did was stay frozen in one position.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Neru said. "Haku's just running the circus, okay?" I awkwardly nodded.

"Get the acid, will ya?" Haku asked Neru, and she slowly nodded. Haku then started yelling at Miku again, driving her to tears.

"Just sing! Please!" I suddenly yelled.

"That's it kid! You could run this circus one day." Miku started singing, and then Haku left.

"I'm sorry! I just…didn't want to see you get hurt. A-Again." Miku actually smiled a little, still singing the song. Neru returned, with a bucket of foul smelling acid.

"Uh, where's Haku-san?" She asked.

"Oh, she left, I think." Neru sighed.

"Okay, thanks." She left. I turned back to Miku, and she finished her song.

"So…what do you think?"

"Huh?"

"What do you think of my song?" She looked directly at me, in the eye at least, since it was only my eye that could fit through the peephole.

"It was amazing!" I said. "You have a great voice." She smiled.

"Thanks…I never thought I'd hear someone actually _phrase _me again in my life."

"Meh, I only speak the truth." I laughed, and she laughed too. "I'm Kassidy, by the way, but my friends call me Kassi-chan."

"O-Oh! I-I'm Miku…"

"Well, nice to meet you! I'd be better if I could see you in person, instead of through this hole, and if you could see my whole body, instead of just my eye. Buuuuut, until I break in, or you break out, we'll have to be like this!"

"Yeah…" My phone rang. "What was that?"

"Nothing, just my phone." I picked it up. "Hello?" It was my mom.

_"Kassidy! Shouldn't you be getting home now? That's an awfully long walk."_

"Uh, but I like long walks."

_"Well, just get home soon! It's 7:00, it's getting dark!"_

"O-Okay."

_"We're going out to eat tonight too!"_

"We are?!"

_"Yeah! Get home soon!"_

"Um, okay! Bye, mom…"

I hung up.

"That was your mother?" Miku asked.

"Um, yeah…"

"Oh, okay."

"Why?"

"Nothing…it's just that I wish I could see my own mother again." She sighed.

"It's okay! You'll be able to see her one day, right? Maybe…she'll come to one of your shows!"

"That seems legit, I mean, my two younger brothers love circuses." Something entered my mind then. That all these kids, they once had a family. Wait, so they were…_kidnapped?_

"Y-Yeah! You'll see her again, just you wait!"

"Thanks…"

"No problem! Okay, I have to go now…I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Wait, tomorrow?"

"Yeah! I'm…thinking of returning. Not for the deformities, that's really just cruel. It's because I've met new friends here."

"You have?"

"Of course! I mean, I guess I'd consider you and Rin and Len new friends, right?"

"Oh…" She beamed. "Well, I'd consider you my friend too."

"Listen, I _really_ have to go now, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Kassi-san!" In my mind, I grinned. I'm glad I met everyone here, they actually seem really nice! Behind all the things, that they didn't even do, they're just normal kids, like me and my friends. I left for the gate, when I was stopped.

"Leaving already?" Rin asked.

"Oh, Rin-san! Yeah, I kinda have to get home…like, NOW."

"Why?"

"Ehhh, my mother…she said that I have to go home. If anything, I'd rather stay for a while longer." Rin nodded. "I'm actually considering going again tomorrow."

"I hope you do!" My phone ringed again. Of course, my Mom.

"Yeah, Mom! I'm going home now! It's just…a bit far."

_"We're going to leave without you!"_

"Okaaaaay, I'm running now!"

I actually didn't even care if they left without me, since here, I'm with my friends. But, on the flip side, I'm _really_ hungry.

"Guys, sorry! I have to go now! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Kassi-san!" Rin said.

"Good bye…" Len said.

I ran out of the woods, almost tripping on a log, and dashed all the way to my house. I took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"I'M HERE, MOM!" She looked up from her iPad, I'm guessing she was on Facebook. (Again.)

"Oh, Kassidy! Why are you so sweaty?"

"Well, first, it's hot outside. Second, I kinda told you I was _running._"

"Take a shower first! We're having guests come with us."

"We are? Mom, why don't you ever tell me anything?" I sighed. "Whatever, I'm gonna go take a shower." I got to my room, and practically melted on the floor. Today was Friday. Tomorrow would be Saturday. Tomorrow I would go see the "circus" again. Or, secret code wise, the thing at the place. My brain tends to make up weird stuff like that.

_"I guess I should actually take a shower now…"_ I put my purse away, and I suddenly wondered if I could slide stuff underneath the tent, and into the tent. I wanted to slide candy bars to Miku. Yup, weird ideas from the brain.

**_"Wait until tomorrow, you'll see your friends again."_**

* * *

Whoa. LONG. XD

I don't even know why it's this long.

Okay, super-early update, since I was anxious to write the next chapter. :P *No will power*

That happens a lot, huh?

I wonder who they're going to have dinner with. DUN DUN DUNNNN

THINK. :P

Okie, I think that's pretty much it for now. ewe

See ya in the next oneeeee~

~Kassi-chan!~


	6. Chapter 5

-~-Chapter 5-~-

* * *

**_Dinner with a friend? Who?_**

That's all my mom told me. No more, no less. Just 'we're going to go have dinner with my friend'. Totally unexpected, too. Right now, we were in her car, completely silent, just the car radio playing a new hit. I was in the front seat, ignoring the entire world, stuck in my own. We were going to meet her friend there, and her two kids, too. My mom told me she used to have three…I guess one grew up and went to collage? But then, technically, he or she would still be your kid, right? Whatever. Now I'm just confusing myself.

"Looks like we're here!" Mom said.

"Mmm-hmm…" I mumbled. "So we're meeting your, uh, friend there right?"

"Yeah, she's already here!" We both walked in, and we saw a woman, about my mom's age, and two boys, probably about eight and nine.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Mom yelled, and she yelled back.

"MAMI-CHAN!" I just hid my face. I mean, I don't know why it's so awkward when moms do it, and totally not awkward when us teens do it to each other. And we do it a lot! "We're going to be called soon—you got here just in time!"

"Mama, I'm hungryyy…" One of the boys complained.

"Don't worry, we're going in soon." She then looked at me. "And this must be Kassidy!"

"Hi…?"

"She's so beautiful!" Oh geez, this thing.

"THIRTY NINE! NUMBER THIRTY NINE?!" Sakura-san walked up and gave them the little card.

"Follow me, please." A waiter took us to a table. I sat with my mom, and Sakura-san and the two boys sat on the other side. It was a buffet, and I wanted to go and get food. NOW. This was already awkward, and it'd only been about six minutes. This thing…will probably last at least an hour. "What will your drinks be?"

"Uhh…." I droned, "Can I have a…um…Sprite?" He nodded, and wrote it down. I immediately left, and took a deep breath, and sighed.

_"__So many choices…but you'd really expect that at a buffet, right? Haha!" _I decided to get some sushi, and some rice, and went back to the table.

"Hey," Apparently one of the boys was there too, the nine year old one. "Who are you?"

"Uh, I'm your mother's friend's daughter." I said, and started to eat.

"What's your name?" He asked. "My name's Arata." I slowly nodded.

"O-kay…I'm Kassidy. People call me Kassi-chan."

"Nice." Well, this was awkward. The other boy wobbled over, trying to carry his plate. "This is Ayumu-kun."

"I can speak for myself!" Ayumu said.

"Really? Like, right now?" Arata asked. I just sat there, eating my food, not paying much attention.

"Well, I guess, nice to meet you both?" Their mom came over with my mom. YES. SOME WOMEN HERE.

"It looks like you guys are having fun!" Sakura-san said.

_"__Are we? Are we REALLY?"_ I thought. What came out was a long "Sure…"

"We have a surprise for you!" My mom said.

"We do?" Sakura-san asked her.

"Yes! I told you on Facebook!"

"You did?!" She gasped, and giggled a little. "I-I didn't check my Facebook since I got in the car…"

"I sent it an hour ago."

"Yeah, I didn't see it, I'm sorry!"

"Well, we're going to go to the circus right after this!" I choked on my drink.

"WHAT?!"

"YAY!" Ayumu cheered. Seems like he _loves _that circus.

"Which one?" Arata asked. "There's a lot of circuses around here."

"Well, I, uh, I sort of forgot the name…" My mom said. "But you'll see!"

"Wait, right after?" Sakura-san asked. "Oh, I'm sorry, but it takes a while to get from here back to my home…and my boys have Summer School tomorrow."

_"__Wow, I feel sorry for them." _

"So we'd have to go home right after…" Sakura-san continued.

"Aww, mama!" Ayumu complained.

"We don't necessarily _want _to go to Summer School…" Arata smirked a little, but not very visibly. I still sat there, completely silent, drinking my drink. Sakura-san bent down and whispered something that I couldn't hear to her boys, and they both sadly nodded.

"We don't miss her that much." Arata said.

"ARATA!" Sakura-san was _real _mad now. I gulped. "JUST BECAUSE SHE'S GONE DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN SAY THAT!" Ayumu had a sad look on. My mom just looked shocked.

_"__Yeaaaaah…best dinner ever."_ I sarcastically thought.

"…So…I guess if you can't come, Kassidy and I'll just go. We _do_ need some more mother-daughter ti—oh." I sat there, completely clueless.

_"__We do?" _I had a feeling I knew which circus it was. The only circus _ever_ with no tickets, no fee, no nothing. The Dark Woods Circus…

"I-I have to go to the bathroom." I got up and left for the women's bathroom, where I squatted on a toilet seat, and played Flappy Bird on my phone. I just needed an escape for that…that…_AWKWARDNESS. _Hey! I beat my high score though! Five minutes or so later, I came out. Sakura-san was getting ready to leave with her boys.

"Bye Sakura-chan!" My mom said. "I'll Facebook you later!"

_"__Did she use that right? Oh well, she's a mom."_

"Bye, Mami-chan!" I basically hid until she left completely. Then I walked out from my hiding place.

"Oh, hi, mom!"

"So, are you ready to go?"

"Go where?"

"You know, the circus!"

"Ohhhhh…riiiiight…" I laughed awkwardly. "Sure."

"Great, let's go!" We walked out of the restaurant, and into the car.

"So what circus are we going to?" I randomly asked.

"Let's see…I honestly forgot the actual name, but I think it was called…the…the…Light Tree Circus, or something?" I mentally facepalmed. She was _nowhere_ close. "We'll have to walk a bit, since they don't allow cars there. It's in the woods."

"Uh-huh." A couple more minutes, and we were there. The familiar place that I'd gone to earlier that day, now had lights strung across the whole place, and they had a couple more tents, I'm guessing selling some weird stuff, like 'magical' potions, or miracle herbal soap junk? I don't really know, we'll see. We both walked closer and closer, and I purposely trailed behind my mom, so I could write a note to Rin and Len and Miku, saying:

**_Here with my mom! She doesn't know I came here earlier…so just pretend you've never seen me in your life…at least for this night! _**

**_Thank you!_**

**_~Kassidy_**

_"__That'll probably work." _I thought. Both the notes were exactly the same. Then I ran in front of my mom, saying,

"Yay, the circus!" Fake excitement, really. I knew the dark side of this circus, but I pretended like I didn't know. Huh, I guess acting school paid off a little! I ran up to Rin and Len.

"Kassi-san!" Rin said. "Welcome back!"

"Hi Rin, hi Len!" I said. "Okay, I need you to do me a favor…kind of an awkward favor, but it'll be more awkward if you _don't_ do it…heheh, um, j-just read this." I handed them the note, and they both read it.

"Oh, okay!" Len said. "I-I guess we could try and pull that off."

"Great! Thank you!" They both nodded in unison.

"Kassidy~!" My mom called, and ran up to me. She took a look at Rin and Len, and said. "Whoa."

"Oh you're here, you're here!" Rin said, and handed her a flier. She winked a bit at me, and I smiled. Working…_PERFECTLY._ Now I just had to find Miku, and my plan was a total go!

"Welcome to the Dark Woods Circus." Len said a bit flatly.

"Be more excited!" Rin whisper-yelled to her brother.

"Haha, thank you!" My mom said. I honestly think she's trying to get back her youth now. Facebook, her weird version of how us kids act…yup.

"Oh!" Rin said. "Are you going to see the show?"

"Show? Oh…we don't have tickets." My mom said.

"You don't need tickets." Len said. "The show's free."

"Ah, okay. I guess we'll go, then!"

"Uh, mom, I think there's a line you have to wait in." I pointed to a line, longer then the one earlier. A lot longer.

"Oh boy. Um, you can go look around, I'll wait in line, then!" She said.

"Okay!" GREAT! I can go pass the note to Miku, and everything will work out. I left her, and found Miku's tent, while passing some of the other tents. I was right. Fake potions and soap. "MIKU-SAN!"

"Huh?"

"It's me! Kassidy!"

"Oh, you're back!"

"Yeah. Uh, I just wanted to ask, um, I'm here with my mom, and I need you to do me a favor."

"What?"

"Here." I tried passing her the note underneath the tent cover, which could lift up, but there was the wooden house-like thing inside.

"Hehe, you can't pass things underneath the tent…" Miku said. Well, there goes the candy bar idea.

"Is there anyway I could get in?"

"Well, you'd need the key for the door." She pointed to a door, behind the tent. "It has a flap on the outside, see if you can find it! Then you lift it, and there's the door. You'd…still need keys though."

"Actually, I think I'll just tell you." I said, "See, I'm here with my mom, and she doesn't know that I was ever here before."

"But…weren't you here this afternoon?"

"Yeah, but she thought I went for a walk in the park, not to the circus."

"Oh. So what should I do?"

"Okay, so can you just please act like you've never seen me in your life before? Just for tonight? If we decide to go back for whatever reason, you don't have to do that, since she'd know already." I heard loud footsteps, and saw a huge shadow. Belonging to, of course, Haku.

"Kid, you're back!" She said. "Enjoyed the show, eh? I bet you couldn't get enough."

"Well, actually, I'm here with my mom." I said. "Which reminds me! Can you do me a favor?" She leaned down.

"What?"

"Can you act like you've never seen me before in your life? My mom doesn't know that I've been here before; she thinks it's still my first time. I know I went here earlier, but she thought I went to the park. Oh, and could you tell Neru-san that too?" She nodded. "Great, thanks!" She smiled.

"Okay, random kid." She got up and left. "The show's starting now! Ya might want to go to your mom!" She yelled.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "I'll see you later, Miku-san. Good luck!" I gave her a thumbs-up, and ran off.

I found my mom, and the line was slowly moving in now. Both Haku and Neru, towering over everyone, were there.

"Welcome, welcome to the show!" We all got inside the tent.

"Wow, it's so big!" My mom said. "I can't wait until the show starts!" I slowly nodded.

"Yeah…" Haku and Neru walked in to the middle of the ring, and Haku grabbed a microphone.

"How ya all doin' today?!" She asked, and the crowd cheered. "I'm Yowane Haku, and this is my partner, Akita Neru!" She handed Neru the microphone.

"We hope you enjoy today's show! It'll feature the oddest of the odd…children…who can't even carry the trembling limbs they were born with. Children, who God has abandoned…restlessly creeping out." Her voice was deep and mysterious sounding. "They smile, as they dream of their mother's embrace. Ooh…the deformity. DEFORMITY. Now…let the show begin…" Rin and Len came out first, dancing a dance, before Haku stopped them.

"We'd now like a audience member." She said. "Any volunteers?" No one made a peep, no hands raised. "Alrighty then, we'll choose one…you." She pointed straight at me.

"Me?" She nodded.

"Ooh! Good luck, Kassidy!"

"Okay…" I walked down the stairs, and into the ring. Haku handed me a rock. "A…rock. So what am I supposed to do with this?"

"What else? Throw it of course! Throw with all your delight!"

"Um, okay!" I threw it, but not at Rin and Len, of course! In fact, I threw it right out the door. Literally.

"No, no! I meant throw it at the kids!"

"…Why?" I asked.

"Because," She sighed. "That's what they were born to do. They're here for your entertainment. So throw the rock!" She handed me another one. I sighed.

"Okay." I had a great idea now. You see, in gym class, I was never known for being one of the girls who won everything, beat boys, and basically loved sports. Nope, nowhere close. I was one of the ones who didn't do much. I guess I was good at _some_ sports, but that's not the point right now. Time to use that horrible throwing ability! Even though I rocked archery, so what? I pretended to aim directly at Rin's head, and she gulped. I winked. I threw it, purposely, a little too high. Okay, a lot too high. Haku just stared with no expression.

"Try again." This time, I threw it, and it landed in front of their feet. She sighed. "G-Go back to your mother." I shrugged.

"Okie." She called someone else up, and I winced as he threw it _perfectly._ "Uh, mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Would this be considered child abuse?"

"I don't know…" I sighed.

"Next up," Neru announced. "We have the Deformed Diva!" Miku walked out, and she caught me, sitting there, and smiled. I winked. Still, she sang a sad song about being in this torture circus. After she was done, Haku decided to have rocks thrown at her too. At first, she refused, and then—you guessed it. Acid. The audience, well, most of it, gasped, but I'm pretty sure that I heard at least one cold-hearted person clap.

I could've sworn I heard her cry, even as Kaito's act was going on. But no one else seemed to notice…

My mom groaned and gagged all throughout Kaito's act, too. It was, a bit disgusting…I mean, the guy eats human limbs! Like that doesn't make you wanna throw up?

Even so, later, after the show, she suggested I should get a summer job here.

"Wait, what?!"

"You're old enough to start earning your own money."

"Yeah, but not old enough to have a _job_!"

"Did I hear you wanted to have a summer job here?" Haku randomly joined in on our conversation. Oh boy.

"Yes, yes! Do you have any openings?"

"Why…I believe we do!" I gulped. Going to this circus was one thing. Working there…completely different. Let's just say, I'm scared of acid now. I didn't think they would treat their employees like that, since, well, I could've, A, called my mom at anytime, or, B, called the police at anytime. Sadly, the circus children were another story…

"So she can start working here tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes. We'll pay her…" Haku thought for a moment. "2000 Yen per day, and she'll work for the entire week?"

"Or more!"

"NO MORE." Okay, maybe more. I discovered that I'd have a great time here, since I had the protection of a cell phone, and I'd get to see my friends everyday, too!

"We'll let her work for a week, and we'll see how it goes, okay?"

"It's a deal!" So basically, I was an underage with a job. Oh well. In a way, it was sort of like being paid to have fun. Kind of fun? I don't know. "Uh, so we'd have to get going now." My mom said. "You'll see her tomorrow!"

"Great! Bye!"

The car ride home was silent, again, except for the radio. I was lost in thoughts, that I didn't even know.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" She had that type of fake excitement, and she tried to sound cheerful.

"Sure." As soon as we got home, I flopped on my bed. I honestly couldn't wait until tomorrow, and at the same time, I never wanted tomorrow to come. WHY IS LIFE SO COMPLICATED?!

Would my mom make me wear a stiff dress or uniform or something? She tends to do that a lot…it's not _that _kind of job! I think I'll just wear my normal, happy clothes.

For the rest of the night, that's all I could think about. Nothing else but that. I fell asleep then. That was the only time I thought of something different. My dreams are so weird! I mean,

**_WHO GETS ABDUCTED BY ALIEN SPACE CARROTS?!_**

* * *

Derp. XD

I ended this one with a light-hearted funny note. :3

So it was a freakishly long (10 PAGES! WHAAAAAT?!) and sort of dramatic chapter.

Now...

Did you pay attention?

The brothers. The mom. THE OTHER FAMILY

If you didn't pay attention, too bad. 'Cause I'm not telling you. :D

Okie doke.

And I'm sorry that this was a day late! D:

My wi-fi was all derpy yesterday, so I couldn't go on and post. :P

Soooo...

Yeah.

Bye~

~Kassi-chan!~


	7. Chapter 6

-~-Chapter 6-~-

* * *

**_"Just five more minutes...? Or an hour?"_**

Who wakes up at six in the morning, on a weekend, during the summertime? Unless you had work, or you were going on a trip, but otherwise, I was doing none of that! Well, okay, now I guess I technically have a job now…ugh. On the bright side, it was somewhere that I actually _liked_, so that was good.

My mom woke me up bright and early…maybe a little _too_ bright and early.

"H-Huh?"

"It's time to wake up!" She cheerfully said. "You don't want to be late on your first day of work, right?"

"Mom, it's a Summer Job, it's not that important."

"Well, you should treat it like a normal job. You're growing up, and you have to be more responsible." I ignored the rest of her mini-lecture.

"Uh-huh." I said, half asleep. "I'mma go brush my teeth…" I wanted to take a nap on the floor. But bathroom tiles are too hard and cold, so that wouldn't go very far. I groaned as I got ready, and Mom was making breakfast downstairs. I wonder what it was…

I put on a blue tank top, a black skirt, and I decided to take my bag with me too. I packed a bunch of random snacks, and I grabbed my breakfast, which was a omelet, and put on my cream flats, and I walked into the forest. The omelet was good.

"Which way was it again?" I took out the map, and kept walking, almost crashing into a tree once. Finally, I saw the familiar gate, the tall tents, and the words there.

**_THE DARK WOODS CIRCUS_**

**_THE ODDEST OF THE ODD_**

I was here.

"KASSI-SAN!" Rin yelled. "HIIIII!"

"Oh, hi, Rin-san!" I said. "Hello, Len-kun~"

"Hey."

"So what are you doing here again?" Rin asked.

"Oh…uh…well…I kinda work here now."

"YOU ARE?!" Rin scream-asked excitedly.

"Well, just for the summer! It's a summer job, I guess you could call it." Just then, Haku and Neru came over.

"KID!" Haku shouted. "You're here! Welcome to the circus…Kassidy-san, is it?"

"Yup!"

"Well, ya been here a bunch'a times already, so I think ya know your way around already, unless ya still want us ta give yous the tour."

"Nah, it's okay…" Haku nodded.

"It seems ya know how ta run this thing already!" She smiled.

"Um, we don't really have anything for you to do right now, so just enjoy yourself, and we'll call you when we have something for you to do, okay?" Neru said. I nodded.

"Okay!" They both left for the small office that I really just realized existed, near the back right corner of the circus grounds. I decided to go see Miku. It was really quiet today, or it could just because it was six in the morning (now seven o'clock AM) so no one was around, or more specifically, even awake.

"Miku-san!" I ran over to her tent. "Hi!"

"O-Oh, hello, Kassi-san!" She smiled. Something looked off with something about her, but I couldn't see it. Hmm. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Well, I uh, I work here now! A-As a summer job, at least. My Mom signed me up." She nodded.

"Y-You're just working here as an employee…right? Not a actor?"

"No…I don't think so. Although I do act. But not in this case."

"You better be glad you don't end up where I am…this is torture!" She sighed. "But there's no helping it…no changing it…"

"What if someone got you out?"

"It's not possible."

"It could be possible. All we need is a plan!"

"IT'S NOT POSSIBLE, ALRIGHT?!" She was on the verge of tears.

"Miku-san…don't cry! Please!" I had an idea. If and when Haku and Neru did the first show of the day, I could sneak into the office, steal the keys to the tent doors, and maybe I could see Miku face to face! That's a good plan, right? "You know what? I have a plan!" I smirked. "A great plan too, I think."

"What is it?"

"Well," I started. "when Haku and Neru go to do the show…"

"But I'll be onstage!"

"Hold on…I'll sneak into their office, and steal the tent keys, and we can, first, meet face to face, and I have a surprise for you!"

"A surprise? What is it?"

"Silly! If I told you now, it wouldn't be much of a surprise now, eh?" She shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." The circus had a couple people walking around now. I assumed the show would be starting pretty soon. "But are you sure the plan will work?" Miku asked.

"I don't know, but I've sneaked chocolate from my Mom before! And frankly, a bunch of other stuff too." Miku sighed and nodded. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing…it's just you…you keep mentioning your mother…and I just miss mine…and my family…" She was really crying now. Crying silent tears, and I wished that I could wipe them.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said. "Actually…I'll be right back." I ran to the little building that was the office. Haku and Neru were in there, discussing who-knows-what.

"Kassidy-san?" Neru asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Kid knows her way around. This is the office! Whatcha need?"

"Oh, uh, I…" I thought for a second. "I need the, um, keys!"

"Keys, why?" Haku asked.

"I dropped something!" I suddenly said. "In the cage! My bracelet fell through!"

"Okay, I'll go with you—"

"WAIIIIT!" Haku yelled. "We have to get ready for the show! The kid can take care of herself, let her have the keys! I trust her, 'aight? She never gave me any reason not to." Neru nodded and gave me the keys.

"Th-Thank you!" I smiled, and left the office. And now I was _really_ smiling. I ran straight to Miku's tent, went around the back, and found the door. I stuck the keys in, and I actually got in!

"Huh?"

"Knock-knock!" I opened the door. It was actually better to see her in person, instead of through some hole.

"Is it you, Kassi-san?"

"Yeah, it's me!" It was a huge cage inside of a wooden house-thing, covered with a tent tarp. Totally makes sense. (Not.) "Is it really you, Miku-san?"

"Yeah…" I walked through the door, and up close, I really could see what she was being treated like. The cage was dirty, and the acid burned her skin, where her skin was peeling off her face, and I can't explain it anymore. Point being, it looked really painful. More painful then anything we've ever been through. Twisting your ankle? Nothing compared to this…

"So," I started. "You ready for your surprise?"

"Sure! What is it?"

"Hold on a moment please…" I stuck my hand in my purse, and pulled out a small bag of my favorite snack in the history of EVER…POCKY! "It's Pocky!" It was a thin biscuit stick with chocolate cream on it. There were also many different types of cream, like strawberry or matcha tea, too! She took it.

"Haven't had chocolate in a while." I popped one in my mouth like it was no one's business, and she did the same. "It's…good! I remember having one of these before I was kidnapped!"

"Wait, _kidnapped_?"

"Yeah…don't you know?" Miku started. "None of us really want to be here. We were kidnapped into the circus. All of us had our own lives before…Rin and Len have a family, I have a family…Kaito was an orphan, but he was adopted…so he has a family too. But I guess you could say us circus freaks are our own family now."

"You're not a circus freak! Well, you're in the circus, but freak is an opinion! I think, I know, you're amazing!"

"You're just saying that…"

"No! You have a epic singing voice, and…" I trailed off. Miku blinked.

"And?"

"Ah…there's too many things." I smiled. "You can have this bag if you want."

"I-I can? Thank you!"

"I have another in my bag…I'm gonna eat it later though. Between you and me, I have 5 whole packs in here." We both laughed. I heard footsteps approach, it had to be Haku and Neru. I pretended to look on the ground for my invisible bracelet.

"Kassidy-san!" Neru called. "Did you find it?"

"Ugh, not yet!" I said. "I'm still looking for it."

"Well, it's time for the show, so can you get Miku-san out?"

"Um, sure!" I looked at the keys, then the cage padlock, then back at the keys. "How do I do that?"

"The gold keys are labeled, and they're for the tents," Neru explained. "The silver ones are also labeled, and they're for the cage padlocks."

"Ah." I picked up the silver key with a piece of paper attached to a string tied to the key. It said 'The Deformed Diva (Miku)' on it. Obviously, it was that key. I stuck it in the padlock, and the door flung open. Miku stepped out, and we smiled. "Good luck!" I whispered.

"Thanks…" Miku and I walked outside, and met Haku and Neru there.

"You know this circus, and how it works now, eh, kid?" Haku asked. "You learn fast." I shrugged.

"I'm going to go look for my bracelet now." They nodded, and left with Miku. I returned to the tent, pretended to look for the 'bracelet', until I was sure they were gone. Then I wondered if I could surprise Miku again. I had a new pack of hand wipes, and I wondered if I could use them to clean Miku's cage. There were only fifteen, was that enough? (The cage was _very_ dirty.) Well, the cleaning's not going to itself, I guess. Although that would be very useful. I took the wipes, and got to work. I sang cheesy movie songs while I did it all, and it actually made the time go faster. I had one wipe left after I was done with all of it. And I even cleaned the cage bars! I smiled at myself. I did a lot. These kids actually deserve all this, after what they'd been through.

**_Rough times they are._**

* * *

Huh, for once I have nothing to type here. :O

Well, it's a REALLY late update at 11:00 PM NJ time...

Don't ask why it's so late. XD

~Kassi-chan!~


	8. Chapter 7

-~-Chapter 7-~-

* * *

**_I was wiped out after that._**

And no pun intended! The cage was really big…well, it's not like it was a bird cage or whatever. This cage contained a person. Although Haku and Neru would argue otherwise…Miku's still a person. A person with goat legs. Which she wasn't even born with, I don't think. Anyway, I decided to grab a random bracelet from my bag, so they'd think I actually made some sort of progress with that. The show should be ending soon, I suppose.

_"__So that's where that one went." _I thought to myself. I had actually lost that bracelet for a while. In the distance I heard sweet singing. _"Must be Miku-san's turn. Huh."_ So after that was Kaito's act, and then that's it for the show…I think. Neru and Haku might've added something else, like the rock-throwing thing, but I forgot where that was in the entirety of the show. And they could've added some other stuff too. I apparently just sat around until the show ended. And I didn't even notice the time! Not until Haku came with Miku.

"Hey, kid!"

"E-Eh?!"

"Open the door, will ya?" Oh. I forgot I had the keys.

"Oh, sorry!" I opened the door right away.

"Ha, we should've taken that back…or made new copies." She said. "So, did ya find your, uh…"

"Bracelet?" I asked. "Yeah, I did. See?"

"That's a nice one!" She smiled. "Well, we gotta get her in her cage, eh?"

"Um, sure." I opened the cage, and was silent for a bit. It was extremely awkward.

"Well, I gotta get back to the office. We're gonna probably make new copies of the keys, so ya keep that one, 'aight?"

"Ah! Uh, okay!" I gave her a cheesy smile, and she was gone.

"Kassi-san…?" Miku asked.

"Huh?" She sniffed.

"What smells like lemons?"

"Lemon—oh." I smiled. "Aheheheh…why would I know?" I decided to keep it a little secret. But I cleaned her cage, would I have to do the others too? I mean, it only makes sense, right? As my dance teacher said, "You have to be even!"

Wait. I'm not going in Kaito's cage. Too much blood…or I'd be eaten.

Rin and Len were okay, though.

BUT KAITO'S CAGE! IT FEELS WRONG!

So I shouldn't have cleaned Miku's cage? Ah~ But I already did.

Oi. I'll do Rin and Len's cage, I guess. But I'd need a new pack of wipes.

"Kassi-san…?" She smirked. "Tell me."

"I, uh, um, hehe,"

_"__Tell me~"_

"Ah, fine!" I shouted. "I cleaned your cage!"

"Oh! Uh, thanks! But why'd you clean it?"

"I really have no clue…" I was honest though. "I guess I tend to clean things at random moments."

"Smells nice." I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so. I always _did_ like the smell of lemon. E-Even if these are wipes." She laughed a bit. I noticed something a bit off though. You know, with her face. It looked a bit worse then before. Or maybe I'm just imagining it…yeah. I'm probably imagining it. I do that a lot, I guess. Suddenly, I screamed. "MIKU-SAN! YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

"H-Huh?!"

"Your face!" I took a couple napkins from my bag, and dabbed it. Her face was peeling, and blood was coming out. It wouldn't stop either.

"Ow…"

"It's okay. Just keep this here!" She held the napkin, and sat down. "I-If you don't mind me asking…what'd they even do to you?"

"I…don't really want to talk about it."

"It's okay if you don't…I'm just asking, alright?" She nodded.

"It hurts…" I heard another voice.

"Miku-chan~" It was Rin. The door creaked open. I must've forgotten to close it! I'm so stupid.

"Miku-san, what's wrong?" Len asked. I noticed she was crying now.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" Rin asked me.

"Haku-san and Neru-san gave me the keys. They said they're gonna make new ones too." She nodded.

"Kassi-san…"

"Eh?"

"Get me out of here, please."

"But you said it's not possible!"

"I believe you can, though. You're smart."

"Then we have to get out too!" Len said. "I can't take this place anymore!"

"But it's so fun~" Rin said. I think my eye twitched. This place was _not_ fun. I decided she was just hiding her feelings.

"I might have to bring my friends here, though."

"Sure, sure!" Rin said. "The more, the merrier!"

"Okay." I answered. I then looked through my bag, and found a small tissue pack. I took one out, and offered it to Miku.

"Th…thank you…" She hugged me. And I did the same.

"D'awww~" Rin said. "Two days, and they're already like sisters!"

"I wonder if they _are_ sisters." Len said.

"DON'T BE CRAZY!" Rin laughed. "They're not sisters! I said they're _like_ sisters!"

"Well, it makes sense," Len said, "Since Kassi-san's been here since the beginning for her."

"Wait…" I let go of her. "The beginning? I thought she was here for longer!"

"No, Miku-chan arrived her two days ago." Rin said.

"And you first came two days ago." Len added.

"B-But…"

"One day's enough to drive you crazy…" Len said.

"But not for meeee!" Rin cheered. "This place's amazing! I don't see how you guys hate it so, but I love it!"

"Um, okay." I said.

"It's a great place to be!" Rin said. "You should be glad you got a job here! You'll be with us for the entire summer! YAY!"

"Especially lucky, since we were forced into this…we're not paid, and we get tortured. You're here, but you get paid, and you still have a family to go to."

"I-I…" They were right! I was just working here. I didn't know what any of them went through, or what they really felt inside. I couldn't relate to any of this. My life, at least, compared to theirs…was perfect. Completely perfect. With friends, family, and social media. "Hey! You guys _do_ have a family! Len, you have Rin, and now we're all a family by ourselves, right? There were great circus families…clown families, acrobat families…et cetera!"

"But it's not _that_ type of circus…" Miku whispered. "If it were, we'd be having fun, not tortured." I didn't say anything else.

"I-I guess you're right." Len said.

"We can be our own family!" Rin said. "Who's up for a family hug?" Before I knew it, she grabbed my arm, and flew me into a hug. Miku joined too, and then Len. I smiled.

"Well, we're the best circus family ever!" I said. Everyone was smiling now. "Oh my god! Len! You have teeth?! I don't think I've ever seen you smile before!" Rin laughed.

"But wait!" Miku said. "How can we be family if we're not related?"

"My mo—" I suddenly remember not to bring that up. "I mean…my friend once said that family isn't about being related, or blood or whatever. It's a group of people—or even just two people—who love each other. A family is formed by love, not by blood."

"Your friend is very smart, then." Len said. Rin nodded like she was on sugar. "You're going to break your neck if you keep doing that." Len said. Rin kept nodding, probably just annoy her brother. "Stop it."

"Fine." Rin said, and playfully rolled her eyes.

"So, I guess we're a family now…!" Miku said. I smiled.

**_"_****_Of course we are."_**

* * *

So kawaii! X3

I always loved family-type chapters/stories, etc.

Always so sweet~

Merp.

I got nothing else to say. XD

I'M RUNNING OUT OF THINGIES TO SAY!

UGHHHHH

Anyway, I'll see ya in the next one!

(I have a feeling I say that every time. o-o)

~Kassi-chan!~


	9. Chapter 8

-~-Chapter 8-~-

* * *

**_Another day at work, and another day at the circus…_**

Well, the circus _was_ my work, anyway. Honestly, I'm dreading it much less. Now that I've got sort of, a family there, I look forward to seeing them each day. Although, it would be better without the acid and things, but otherwise, it was sorta kinda fun! I guess…well, you can't really call it fun, right? The things they did outdid anything that was even the slightest bit fun. I wondered if I could actually get Miku and the others out someday. Like, a breakout!

Later, that morning, while I was walking to the forest, I saw Chiyo.

"Kassi-chan!" she said, "Hi!"

"Oh, hello, Chiyo-chan!"

"Why are you up so early? I mean, you wake up later then Aki!"

"I um…" Should I actually tell her about the job? I mean, why not? But, still… "I…I…kind of…got a job!"

"A job?! But aren't you too young for that?"

"Hey, I didn't want it! But my mom and…some lady…they made me do this without any of my opinion!"

"Well, okay then…where do you work then?" Chiyo asked. "The yogurt shop?"

"Uh, actually…" I trailed off. "I work at the circus."

"O…kay…" She giggled a bit. "So what do you do there?"

"_NOT_ clean poop and stuff, if that's what you're implying." I stated. "Well, I actually don't do much. It's like getting paid to have fun! Although, it's not that fun."

"That makes no sense…"

"Well, I work at the Dark Woods Circus, so there's not, like animals, or whatever. No, just people."

"Acrobats?" I then wondered if Rin and Len's act counted as acrobatics…I don't think so. It was just a dance. I forgot if they did flips or whatever. Miku sang, and Kaito ate…things…so not really.

"Not necessarily." Chiyo looked puzzled.

"Can it even count as a circus if there's not entertainment?"

"Well, I'll be honest. It's not much entertainment, but I guess there's music, dancing, and food…" Which was sort of true. Actually, I decided that probably the only people who found this fun was sadists. Great, now I'll stay away from half the guests. "Do you want to come?"

"Ah…I'm curious how something like that works…" She said, "But I'm busy being a Summer Tutor for the kids at the elementary school."

"Oh, right! I totally forgot! Well, are you coming to Aki's sleepover later?"

"Yeah, are you?" I nodded. I made a mental note to tell Haku and Neru that I had to leave early.

So I went into the woods again. Now I knew the path like the back of my own hand—I didn't need the map anymore! I saw the familiar sight of the large, metal sign. Rin and Len weren't there yet. I guess they're not there in the mornings, but they come out later. I did, however, see something out of the ordinary. Even for this place.

_"__That's strange…"_ A bike was parked by the fence. _"People actually bike in these woods? I mean, there's no roads."_ I walked in anyway. I ran to Miku's cage.

"Miku-chan! Hello—! Huh?!" Miku wasn't in her cage! Unless they had a _really _early show, which probably wasn't the case, since the circus doesn't technically open until 9:00 in the morning (It was 7:00 AM…it takes a while to prepare for the day.) there was something going on. Rin and Len weren't up at the front, and they weren't in their cage either. In fact, I couldn't find their tent! No Kaito, either. "Hello?! Anyone?!"

"KASSI-SAN!" Miku yelled. I heard her voice, but I didn't see her. Suddenly, two arms yanked me.

"GAH!" It was only Miku, who had pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh…hi!"

"Thank god you're here!" She said. "I was scared. There's a officer in the circus, and I don't know what they're going to do to us!"

"Wait, an officer? What kind? Was he or she wearing white, looked really official, and had some sort of badge?"

"Well, I guess." She let go of me, and I turned around to face her.

"Can you take me to them, then, please?"

"Sure, follow me. Rin and Len are there too. Kaito isn't…they said they hid him somewhere to prevent 'them' from finding out. I hope nothing bad happened to him…"

We got to the office, where the officer—a _police_ officer, so this can't end well—stood there with Rin, Len, Haku and Neru.

"Who's she?" He pointed at me.

"Oh, she works here."

"How old are you, miss?"

"Uh," I could get into HUGE trouble if he found out. Or Haku and Neru, but I wasn't gonna take any chances, so I had to lie. "Fifteen." I forgot exactly what age you had to be to be working, but I figured it was close enough. He ignored me after that. I didn't really pay any attention to his questions, they were something along the lines of "what is this?", "who are they?", and you know. Those 5 W's and a H that you always had to answer while reading a book in first grade. He also asked about the "condition" of the circus, and how the kids were being treated.

"Oh, we treat them finely!" Haku was sweating. I think she sweated a back-face. He nodded slowly. Or maybe he was nodding at a normal pace, and time just slowed down.

"How about you?" He suddenly looked at me, and I think I had a miniature heart attack.

"Wha—me?!"

"Yes."

"I…uh…" Haku and Neru, Rin and Len, and Miku were all looking at me. _Everyone_ was looking at me. "Um…they—THEY TREAT THEM GREAT!" What? Why did I just say that? They treated the kids _horribly_. Haku sighed a sigh of relief.

"Why'd you say that?" Miku whispered.

"I don't know! It just came out…" She sighed.

"Well, we're never gonna get out of here…"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…" The police officer asked countless more questions. It felt like forever. Finally, he nodded for the last time, and left. Haku looked like she was about to pass out.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"The police were here…" Haku said.

"He found out from his daughter, and decided to check it out. I think he thought we looked suspicious, and decided to ask us some questions."

"Huh. You saved us, kid!"

"I did?"

"Yeah, I mean, when he asked you the questions and stuff…" I just looked to the side. I mean, if the circus shut down, where would Miku and the others go? If they went to an orphanage, would anyone adopt them? I mean, I guess, if I were an adult woman, I could, but I'm not. Where would they go…?

But on the other hand, if the circus stays, they're going to be tortured. Every single day. I hate to think about it, but maybe even for the rest of their lives…

I knew this circus had to be shut down. But where would everyone go?

So I guess the circus _had _to stay.

No one really came that day. I'm not sure why. The circus wasn't officially closed, not that I know of. But we were a bit shaken from the police incident. Everyone, for the rest of the day stayed inside their cages. I was with Miku, and we talked about things, usually getting _way_ off-topic.

"So do you have any more of the Pocky stuff you gave to me the other day? I'm sorry if that sounds a bit…uh…"

"No, it's okay! I have lots of that stuff!" I gave a pack to her, and she smiled.

"Thanks!" My phone suddenly rang. "Your mom again?" I shrugged, and picked it up.

"OH MY GOD. THE TIME!" I grabbed my bag. "Ah, I gotta go now! I'm gonna be late for Aki-chan's sleepover!"

"Sl-Sleepover?"

"Yeah!"

"And who's Aki-san?"

"She's my friend…say, uh, can you tell Haku and Neru that I left?"

"Sure. If they come around, that is." I packed up my bag, and stood up.

"Bye!"

"Bye, I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I nodded.

"Of course."

I ran home, took a crazy-fast shower, and ran over to Aki's, with my sleepover bag, PJ's and all that stuff. When I got there, I wasn't all that late. Chiyo, Aki, Mei, and Aimi were all watching TV in Aki's living room. Some drama, I suppose. Later, after we were all done with a feel-worthy drama/anime session (it started at dramas, then went to anime…which I honestly liked better.) I decided to tell them about the circus.

"YOU WHAT?!" Aki screamed. "WHY THE CIRCUS?!"

"Well, I—"

"COULDN'T YOU HAVE GONE SOMEWHERE ELSE?!"

"I DIDN'T WANT TO WORK THERE!" Half true, since I was constantly_ visiting_ the circus, I never planned to _work _there! "MY MOM MADE ME WORK THERE!"

"WHY'D YOU LISTEN TO HER THEN?!" Chiyo facepalmed. I mentally did the same.

"Well, she's her _mother._" Aimi pointed out. Aki sighed.

"Still." Mei rolled her eyes.

"What's up with you and the circus anyway, Aki-chan?"

"Circuses…have clowns. Clowns…viciously murder people. I mean, they're in _all _the horror movies! Am I right?"

"Do you _really _want us to answer that?" Chiyo asked. Aimi snickered. Mei ate a Snickers bar.

"Seriously, Aki-chan. There aren't clowns at this circus. They have, uh, singing, music, dancing, and…food." Aki's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Like, _karaoke?_"

"So now you _like_ the circus?" Mei asked.

"No. I do like karaoke, though."

"Uh, not really."

"Oh." Aki said, disappointed.

"They have singing performances."

"Like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu?" Aki asked.

"No…"

"Then what do they have?" Aki was getting annoyed now.

"They have strange, but wonderful music—"

"English music?"

"Let her finish!" Aimi said.

"No, not English music. It's just…different. I guess they have food, like, regular circus food, but I never really looked for it. Um, they have a dance performance, I guess you could say. Uh, and they have…weird stuff." Close enough.

"Seems interesting!" Chiyo said. "After I'm done with the tutoring, I'll come by! Where is it?"

"It's in the woods. I'm not entirely sure where, since I've memorized the path, but I could give you a map. In fact," I had my bag inside my sleeping bag…just in case. "I have one here!" They all looked over it, even Aki!

"Ehhhh, I don't know." She said.

"Come on!" Mei said.

"We'll drag you if we have to!" Aimi said. "Well, I know I'm going one day. But I'm sort of busy this month with dance competitions…I'll go next month if it's still open."

"As far as I know, it's open for the rest of the summer."

"Great! 'Cause I'm going on a short vacation to Tokyo to visit my grandparents." Mei said. "We're coming back on July…uh…fifteenth? Or sixteenth, I totally forgot." She laughed. "But somewhere around there. Fifteen and a half!"

"We should all go together!" Chiyo said. Aki was silent.

"_Fine._" She gave in. "But if I see _one_ clown…oh, I'M LEAVING! I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be viciously murdered and left in the woods to die!" The rest of us exchanged looks.

"Okay then…" We said in unison.

**_Great! We might even have a little breakout~_**

* * *

Yay~

So, uh, yeah. XD

Snickering and a Snickers bar :P

**REFERENCE—"Sweating a back-face" is from Dog With a Blog.

I don't really watch Disney Channel all that much anymore, but still.

Okie.

Bai~

~Kassi-chan OUT!~


	10. Chapter 9

-~-Chapter 9-~-

* * *

Of course, later the next day I had to return to work. It was a fun sleepover, after we talked about the circus, we had some weird conversation about Nutella and pizza (don't ask…) and then we started talking about anime, then something else that I totally forgot, then we ended up talking about the circus again until we fell asleep. When I got back there for work, it was like same old, same old. Haku and Neru let me go late, since they wanted me to have a bit of time with my friends. Well, at least that's what I heard. Rin and Len were back at the front; the circus was about to open. In fact, it was opening in ten minutes. Well, luckily, I don't really have to set up anything.

"Hello, Kassi-san!" Rin said.

"Hi, Rin-san! Len-kun~" He nodded. I walked over to Miku's tent.

"Oh, hello, Kassi-san!" She said. "Was your sleepover fun?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was great!" I paused. "…And I even got my friends to come over!"

"Wait, today? _Now?"_

"O-Oh, not today!" I said. "Sometime around July 15th-ish."

"Well, I can't wait to meet them!"

"Yeah. I actually want them to meet you too!" I checked the calendar on my phone. Today was June 30th. July starts tomorrow, so it'll be about sixteen more days. Wait. _Exactly_ sixteen days.

People started coming in already. I knew that the show would be starting soon enough.

"K-Kassidy!" Haku ran up to me, panting.

"Whoa…uh…"

"This might sound sudden, but we need you to do the show today!" I think I paled.

"Wait, _WHAT?!_" I yelped. "Am I even ready for that? I mean, I've only been here three days! Well, working, but still!"

"We think you're ready. Besides, we have lots of paperwork and stuff to do!"

"I-I can't!"

"Well, you kinda have to!"

"I—" I paused, and sighed. "I'll do it."

"Oy! Thank you!" She bowed, and ran off back to the office.

"Kassi-san!" Miku said, "You're doing the show?"

"I-I guess so." I suddenly had a genius plan. Hey, they never said I had to do the show like _they_ did it! So I'll invent my own way! And I knew how to do it! Miku sighed.

"You're gonna do it like they do it, aren't you?"

"Actually…no!" I winked. "They never said I had to do it _their_ way…so I'm doing the show my way! The Kassidy Way! And don't worry, this is gonna better then anything you've ever been in…it's gonna be…_AWESOME!" _She smiled.

"I can't wait!"

"Now…go change into your _extra_ fancy clothes…!" I ran off to go get Rin and Len. They were still greeting the guests. Huh. More people then I expected…

"Rin-san! Len-kun!"

"Eh?" They both said.

"Kassi-san!" Rin said.

"What are you doing here?" Len asked.

"Well, I have a surprise!"

"A surprise?" Len asked.

"OOH! I LOVE SURPRISES!" Rin cheered. "WHAT'S THE SURPRISE?!"

"The surprise…is…that…I'm going to be—"

"GET ON WITH IT, KASSI-SAN!"

"Okay, okay, I am! Calm down!" I yelped. "Aheheh…um, the surprise is that…I'm going to be doing the show today!"

"Wait, all of them?" Len asked.

"Wha—" I paused. Haku didn't tell me if I was going to do _all_ the shows! What if I was only doing one? Two? Forty? "I, uh…actually, I'm not sure. But I do know I'm doing at least one." I chuckled awkwardly. "T-The point is that, I'm doing a show, so…go get your fancy clothes!" I winked. "I'll see you guys later~" I left them, and then I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks and gulped. Who's the last person at the circus here? _Kaito_. What does he eat? _People…_

_"__HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WORK WITH A CANNIBAL?! I'LL GET EATEN FOR SURE! AHHHHHHHH…!" _You can't go to your own funeral, right? Well, I don't think I'll get one, since I'll be a pile of bones after this. I decided on this. I am Beauty, he is the Beast. Right? But…we're not getting married at the end. Nope. No way. _"Deep breath in, deep breath out. Now hold your breath. You don't want to smell rotting corpse."_ I literally military-marched over to Kaito's tent. We didn't speak a lot…or at all, for that matter. So I didn't know what he was like, what he thought, et cetera, et cetera. Technically, I didn't know anything anyone here thought. Miku, Rin, Len, Kaito…they've all been through their own experiences. And I haven't been through them, so I can't say for sure, what they're thinking. Hah, now that I think about it…I've been through _NOTHING_ like them. Being captured into a infinity circus? Nope. Being tortured every single day of your life with little to no hope? Nowhere close! Hoping to die because you can't stand the pain? My life is practically perfect compared to these…

So that's why I took a stand. A secret stand, if I might say. This is Kassi-chan's circus now! I'll run it the way I want!

And that's the good way.

I took a deep breath.

"K-Kaito-k-kun?" I winced. Nothing happened. A deep voice came from a dark corner. I think I smelled corpse, but then again, I don't know what corpse smells like, so I guess it pretty much smells like the meat section at a supermarket. Only rotten.

"What is it?!"

"I-I-I-I-I, um, hello!"

"WHAT IS IT?!"

"Well, okay, I'm Kassidy, call me Kassi-san, and, um, I work here, and—"

"GET TO THE POINT." Jeez, someone didn't have their coffee!

"Okay, okay! Well, I'll be running, directing, whatever you call it—but I'll be doing the show today!"

"You'll be _in_ it?"

"N-Not really…you see, instead of Haku and Neru running, directing, et cetera, it, I'll be doing that!"

"You smell young."

"I smell—what?!"

"You smell young. Too young."

"Well, excuse me! That's ageist! It's not my fault Haku and Neru randomly made me work here! But still! I'm doing the show, so I thought I'd let you know. Now get into your fancy clothes." I ran off.

"Kassi-san!" Miku called. "I'm done! H-How do I look? AH! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be—"

"Don't worry, Miku-san!" I smiled. "Hah, my friends ask that all the time, it's just how we people speak these days…! Anyway, you look awesome!" It was like her normal pink gown, but it was sparkly and blue. The pink one looked like it'd never been washed. This, on the other hand, looked entirely new!

"Aren't you gonna dress up too?"

"I—WAH!" I just realized that I had told everyone to dress up, and I didn't do it myself! "I-I'll be back! Hold on!" I ran like a crazy woman all the way from the circus to my house. I went through the back door, since it was closer to my room, and I just didn't feel like going to the front. My mom might notice anyway, and that's never good…

"Gotta find a dress~!" I rummaged through a bunch of pink, blue, purple, other colors, and found a great dress. It wasn't that long, it was about a medium length, and it was light pink, and just with a tiny bit of sparkles. I decided to wear a white lace shrug with it, and a gold necklace, a couple bracelets, the earrings I was already wearing, and…ah, why not? A sparkling ring. I looked a bit fancy, maybe if I were going to a fairy tale ball or something. Oh, whatever! I checked the clock in my room, it was about three o'clock. A bit late, I guess. The next one would technically be one hour later, in regular circuses, but I think Haku and Neru are a bit mixed up with schedules, so they're pretty random. I decided to have mine at six. I changed, and put my regular clothes in a gym bag. I guess I'll have to change, if I wanted to, in a port-a-potty. So I guess I won't change at all, but it's useful to have clothes with you anyway. More stuff to carry home though…oh well.

"I'm…I'm here!" I checked my phone. Exactly three o'clock. Time to start the show. I ran to the office, since that's where I expected the microphone for the loudspeakers would be. I dashed in, and no one noticed me. Even though I bet it was pretty darn loud. I grabbed the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I would like to announce that the grand show is starting! It is in the main tent, and it'll start soon! Uh…enjoy the show! Thank you." I put the microphone down, and dashed to the main tent. Rin and Len were there already, dressed up, and greeting the guests. I grabbed the keys out of my pants pocket inside the gym bag, which I didn't really have any reason to be carrying around, but still, and dashed to Miku's tent first. I opened it. "I'll meet you in the main tent! Go!" And I guess I had to get Kaito out, although I'm not sure how. As in, how I'll _survive_. Oh well. I lived a good life. I gulped, and opened it. I could've sworn he drooled at the sight of me, and I backed up. "U-Uh…g-go to the main tent! Pl-Please!" I ran off to the main tent, and went backstage. Everyone was there now.

"Kassi-san…are you ready?" Miku asked. I nodded.

"Of course…now…let the show begin! Good luck, guys!" I did a thumbs-up, and peeked out from behind the curtain. Good. Everyone was seated. We can begin!


	11. Chapter 10

-~-Chapter 10-~-

* * *

The show was starting! And I was the ringmaster. Okay, that sounds a bit too…I don't know, but I don't like it. But for now, I controlled this. And it'll run smoothly, and it'll be better then any show that Haku or Neru could put on…no, no torture! That's what was so good about it. I had an idea, and I put my mind to it. There's nothing that could go wrong, right?

"Ladies and gentlemen!" There was a flash of lights, and I ran out to the middle of the ring. "Welcome to the Dark Woods Circus! Where we show the oddest of the odd! But…" I decided to steal the regular phrase, but there was a catch. "But…this _is_ a circus…so we'll have some fun, all together!" I smiled. Fun for _everyone_ that is~ "Now, I'd like to tell you a little story…tonight is a special night! Especially for me! Because, the regular two ringmasters, eheheh, um, how should I explain this? They…didn't treat our performers that great. But for tonight, one night only, I'm here! So we can all have fun together! Now…let's bring them out!" I shouted out everyone's names as they ran out from behind the curtain. The audience gasped, but not with fear, but with joy! See, that's the difference between _my_ circus, and _their_ circus. "You see, these performers are all…a bit deformed. But they're still alive! They're amazing in their own way…so we've come to share with all of you! Welcome to the circus!" The audience applauded. I honestly treated this sort of like all my presentations in school. I winged it…I think it came out a bit (very) awkward, but, the audience seemed to like it…! I think.

"Kassi-san, what are we supposed to do? You never told us anything!" My eyes widened.

"W-Wha—can you guys just juggle? Miku, you sing, and Kaito…I uh…"

"He's scary enough to tame a tiger!" Rin suggested.

"But we don't have a tiger! Plus, it'd be too dangerous…" Len raised an eyebrow.

"And he's not? He's a cannibal!"

"Guys, guys, don't take it out on him! Hmmm…" I thought. What has to do with eating, circuses, and NOT people? Sword swallowers? But we don't have any swords… "C-Can you dance?" He nodded. I decided to go along with it.

Surprisingly, the show turned out…GREAT!

Rin and Len are both AMAZING jugglers, doing all sorts of crazy tricks that I didn't even know existed!

Miku sang wonderfully~! And instead, tonight, it would've been the happiest song you'd ever heard before.

Kaito…WOW. You wouldn't have expected a circus cannibal to be the world's greatest dancer!

Before, the audience had less applause, since it wasn't a _circus_, but a _torture show_…

But tonight, the applause was louder then ever! I think you could hear it in America!

At the end, we all bowed, and got…guess what? A standing ovation!

After, we all went backstage again.

"Kassi-chan!" Miku said. "Oh—uh…d-do you mind me calling you that?"

"No problem! Anyone can call me that! Well, except my enemies…but let's not get into that. You guys are my friends!" I laughed. "Buuuut…you have to let me call you Miku-chan and Rin-chan!" I winked.

"Of course!"

"Yeah!"

"A-Anyway, you should do more shows like this!" Miku suggested. "It's both fun, and better for us." I nodded.

"But, unfortunately, it's Haku-san and Neru-san's circus…not mine. Although…if I can earn their trust even _more_, I think I can pull off more shows!"

"YES!" Rin cheered. "Get on their good side!" I actually was _already_ on their good side…without even trying! How that happened, I'm not sure, but this was off to a good start!

"We also have the other show today, right?" Len asked.

"Yup! Six o'clock. Same routine, I guess. But we could mix it up a little if you guys want to."

"Keep it simple." Kaito said. "Don't do anything more."

"Okay, then! We can just do this again, I guess!" I smiled. "For now, you guys better go rest."

Later, Miku and I were in her tent…eating Pocky.

"Mmm…you know, Kassi-chan, you could own a circus one day."

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't want to be a ringleader. I want to be…a singer!"

"A singer?"

"Yeah! Kinda like you…b-but not in a circus. I want to travel the world, everywhere. A-And I want to be one of those stars who make a difference! Not just by donating, since I'll probably have a lot of money, but I want to help them hands-on! Go to wherever, and help the people…actually meet them!" We both sighed. Both of us somehow got stuck in my own little fantasy.

"I can imagine you as a singer." Miku said, and both of us popped out of my dream-cloud. "I wanted to be like that, too…but I don't think that's really a choice now."

"What do you mean?" She sighed.

"Well, look at me. I'm all deformed now…but I guess…I'm still a singer. Technically. But this isn't exactly how I imagined it."

"Who cares if you're deformed! You're an amazing singer, and people judge by personality, and in this case, talent! And you got _loads_ of talent! You can do it! You know what, if and when you get out of here, we can work together on it! And I know you're gonna get outta here someday! And if you don't, I'll make sure of it!" She smiled.

"Thanks…"

"Hey, you know what? We can even start now!"

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"We can try singing together!"

"Oh…why not!" We both grinned, and took a deep breath.

**_"_****_We've been watching together_**

**_The stars we gathered_**

**_Reflected at the window_**

**_Again, we counted them on our fingers_**

**_In that night we filled with our time_**

**_I asked you away_**

**_And stopped the time_**

**_When I said "I love you", you evaded it_**

**_Pretending you didn't hear_**

**_Stop it already_**

**_In the time with you_**

**_My orbit was always of_**

**_A circumpolar star_**

**_Like a tremolo_**

**_An angle of waving thoughts_**

**_I can't get hold of them, if I could get to you_**

**_It feels like I'm about to lose something_**

**_Raising my feelings, I set for a voyage_**

**_Embrace me, if we hadn't met, here_**

**_Catch me, I'm flying over Denebola_**

**_Selfishly going ahead of me, that's just like you_**

**_Chase after me, as a panorama that rises into view_**

**_Far better than a choir, a shooting star_**

**_Will sing now, shine upon me, SPiCa!"_**

We only sang a part of it, until we both stared at each other.

"You…are…amazing." Hah, intertwined thoughts! (We're becoming Rin and Len…)

"As soon as I get out of this circus…I want to pursue my dream!" Miku said.

"And I'll do it with you! We can try together!" She nodded.

"Of course." We both stuck out our pinkies and pinky-promised each other that.

* * *

Song is (obviously) SPiCa by Headphone Tokyo feat. Hatsune Miku :3

THIS is why I did that thing on Google+ with the songs XD

So yeah~

Bai.

~Kassi-chan!~


	12. Chapter 11

-~-Chapter 11-~-

* * *

**_"We can try together!"_**

The words were still ringing in my ears. It was the next day, and I almost fell asleep again. Today's morning was just like any other morning now —drag myself out of bed, get ready, go to work. I took my time today, since usually I was almost always early. So why _not_ take my time?

Not the smartest idea…

Great! Now I'm late!

It was 8:55 now—the circus opens at nine. I CANNOT MAKE IT IN FIVE MINUTES.

"GAH!" I ran down the stairs, almost slipping on the cold wood floor multiple times. "I'M GONNA BE LATE!" I grabbed a piece of toast, put some grape jelly on it, and just like in an anime, ran out of the house with it in my mouth.

I wonder how those characters did it, because the bread fell out of my mouth. Now I'll have to buy my own breakfast…

BUT I HAVE TO GET TO WORK FIRST!

Mad dash. That's all I could do. That's what I did. And I was just on time!

My phone beeped with the timer I set up yesterday.

"I'M…HERE…!" I panted.

"Whoa…did you run here, or something, Kassi-chan?" Rin asked.

"As a matter of fact…YES."

"Oh." Len whistled. "Well, I think they're having another busy day…I think you'll get to run the circus again!"

"Yay…" I said. "Do you guys have a chair or something I can borrow?" The twins looked at each other.

"Actually, I haven't seen a chair or bench or whatever here. EVER." Rin said.

"What?! How can you _not _have a chair? It's like, one of those things everyone owns!"

"Except for people who hate chairs."

"Okay then…" I paused. "Do Haku or Neru or both of them happen to hate chairs?" They both shrugged one shoulder, so their body shrugged together.

"Kassi-cha-a-a-a-a-a-n!" Miku yelled as she ran over here. I guessed she hadn't gotten used to those legs, since she ran very awkwardly. "Hello!"

"Oh, hi, Miku-chan!" I said, still panting. I think I looked somewhat like a sweaty monkey. Well, in one way or another.

"Are you gonna do the show again?" She asked. "It was very fun yesterday. Better then any show Haku and Neru could've ran. Better then anyone's!"

"Thanks, but I'm not sure."

"They're having another busy day." Len said.

"We even peeked through the window!" Rin said.

"Yeah, even though we could've gotten acid'd if they caught us." Len snorted, annoyed. He glared at Rin.

"But they didn't~!" Rin sang.

"And I bet you guys only like it because I run it like a _normal _person would." Then I realized what I just said. Me. Standing in a group of was-normal people…err…turned into…not-so-normal-but-they-couldn't-help-it people. "I-I mean…I run it like a…person with a…heart would run it! A-And by that I mean, a good heart that knows sympathy…yeah." Today, that day, I realized that there are rules here. And what that means, is there are rules for not hurting someone's feelings, and overall sanity.

**_Rule #1: WATCH YOUR MOUTH!_**

**_"Like a normal person", "Well, I'm normal", etc. WELL THEY'RE NOT THAT NORMAL ANYMORE! But they are still human._**

They all stared at me.

"I'm…sorry…!" I whispered. They all stared at each other.

A couple silent moments later, everything really went back to normal. I'm pretty sure they heard what I completely ACCIDENTALLY said, but _maybe_ they forgave me? I hope so.

"Well, we should probably go," Miku said. "the guests are coming in!" I nodded, and followed her.

There were a lot of guests today, and they filled the place with chatter and astonishment. I was with Miku, as usual.

"Hey," I heard a voice say. It wasn't me, and it wasn't Miku. We looked straight at the little peep hole. Well, obviously, we couldn't see anything much. I guessed that the voice belonged to a little girl—younger then us both. I could've easily gone outside to check, but I didn't want to. "Why do the call you the 'Deformed Diva'?"

"Well…" Miku said, and trailed off. She stood up, revealing her goat legs. "Is that a good enough explanation?"

"Mmm." She said. "And what about you?"

"Wha—me?!" I asked.

"Of course. Who else? What are you?"

"Well, I'm a person. Obviously." I said, with nothing but the truth. "I'm not a performer, I just work here."

"Whatever." The girl said. She was now speaking to Miku. "So, Diva, sing a song."

"I really don't wa—"

"SING." I'm not even sure if it was a little kid anymore. It could be Haku or Neru imitating a kid. Now that I think about it, I guess it sounded a bit like Haku. Even if you imitate someone or something else, your voice is still your voice, no matter what.

"Miku-chan!" I whispered. "I think you should sing—it's Haku-san."

"H-Haku-san—what?!"

"She's imitating a little kid."

"I don't—"

"Oh, Miku!" Haku came through the door.

"Ey, made those keys already, huh?" I asked. Trying the change the subject! But she completely ignored me.

"You do know that when guests ask of something, you have to give it to them?"

"I-uh…"

"No matter what?" I gulped. Miku was shaking—and I saw it. "And you'll have to do that in the future. Got it?" Haku was pulling out a bottle—acid. I could smell it from here, and it smelled rancid. Horrible.

I decided to be a hero.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…" I said suddenly. I had little control over that. "Wait. Miku-chan can't sing because…because…because…uh…she has…a…sore…throat!" I glanced at Miku, and she glanced at me. She had that look in her eyes, that friends can somehow magically tell that the other is going with the plan.

"She sounds okay to me."

"Well, it's kinda getting better, so she can say a couple words, I guess." I said. Miku banged on a cage bar.

"Wa…ter…?" I winked at her.

"Oh, fine." Haku tossed a regular water bottle. Full of murky stuff.

"That's water?" I asked.

"Obviously, what else would it be?"

_"Mud. Mud is what it is." _I thought.

"So should we tell them that she can't sing tonight?"

"Ah, I guess so. The guests would be disappointed." She paused. "Wait. It's the middle of summer, how could she have a sore throat?!"

"I don't know! I'll have you know that I _failed_ my health class…" Actually, it was easy. We got to use the notes on every test. I just _hated _health. Luckily, we didn't have to pay much attention to anything. "I guess the sore throat…virus…can come at any time of the year!" Haku eyed us suspiciously.

"Okay…then." She said. "Anyway, we're really busy down at the office. I'll be able to make the announcement, but you have to run the show again. I believe in ya, kid! Make me proud." I nodded.

"YES SIR! MA'AM!" CLOSE ENOUGH! Haku left, and I watched her, and we didn't talk until I said that she was in the office already.

"T-Thank you…Kassi-chan…" Miku smiled.

"Of course! I mean…you're still a human being, right? And even if you're not, you still have a heart, and everyone deserves to be treated like a person, not a piece of garbage."

"But…I might as well be a piece of garbage."

"No you're not! You shouldn't be! You're a wonderful person, and I'm glad to be your friend!" I opened her cage and stepped in. "I'm very glad…I met you."

"Kassi-chan…" Suddenly, out of nowhere, she hugged me. And I hugged her back. "I'm glad I met you, too."

**_"Can I have your attention please? ATTENTION PLEASE!_**

**_Today, at the show, the Deformed Diva cannot sing, because she came down with a…sore throat. I think. B-But she will be back tomorrow! _**

**_Thank you for your time."_**

We both laughed. Haku messing up on the loudspeaker? PRICELESS.

And Haku _NEVER_ messes up on the loudspeaker. (She's that person.)

"Kassi-chan!" Rin and Len came over. "We should get ready for the show now!" It was Rin's voice.

"Oh, right! Uh…you guys go get ready, and I'll…also…get ready." I laughed.

"Miku-san, you're not performing?" Len asked.

"No, I, uh…" She paused. "Between you and me, I don't really have a sore throat…Kassi-chan came up with a great idea, and saved me from being…"

"Acid'd?" Rin asked. Miku nodded. So basically, Len came up with a new word that day.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'saved'. More like prevented, I guess. I'm no Sailor Moon, or Superwoman, so I don't think I could really, actually, _save_ someone or something. Or anything."

"But you did." Miku said. I smiled.

As we were getting ready to start, I realized something. In the short time that I was working at the circus, I have grown to love these people I work with. (Love as in friendship-type love. Not the other one. I…already have a crush…) And as people, not whatever society thinks of them. Hopefully, society thinks well. We have grown as close as family. I realized, especially with Miku and I…we have grown as close as sisters…


	13. Chapter 12

**~July~**

* * *

-~-Chapter 12-~-

* * *

After the show that day, I decided to go out for a bit to town. I bought a couple bottles of water.

Why is that so important, you ask? Well, I guessed that the performers (should I even call them that? They're, like, part of my 'family' that is my friends…I guess…) deserved _actual _water and food at some times, even if it means I have to spend my _own _money…it's worth it. It feels good. It felt right. Especially from what they've been through at the circus. It doesn't matter how long or how bad it was, they deserved it. And I would even hang out with them like my regular friends! …If I could. (You know, if they could get out of the circus and all…but that's not happening soon, right? I mean, _how? _I guess it's a possibility, but still.)

It was about twenty minutes, in all. Going to, buying it, and coming back. To be honest, the store was kind of far away. Especially with the woods. SHORTCUTS DO NOT WORK. You will just find yourself mixed up in the most tangled part of the forest, and long story short, it's better to take the long way. Well, I guess you learn something new everyday, huh?

"I'm back!" I said, as I walked through the same old iron gate.

"What 'cha got there?" Rin asked.

"Is that water?" Len questioned.

"Well, duh. What else would it be?" Oh…right. Haku just asked me the same question earlier. I guess they're _used _to the weird murky stuff. "Um…it's _real _water."

"Then what was the stuff we had before?" Rin asked.

"That's more like mud. In all honesty…try some of this. I mean, water is water, but this is actually…actual…_water._ Not some weird murky whatever stuff." I tried to explain it. They shrugged.

"Okay then…" Len said. "So _what_ is it?"

"GAAAAAH!" I yelled. "J-Just try some then! Here! I bought enough for everyone." I handed them both a bottle, and left. They seemed confused at first, then they just tried it anyway.

"Better then the murky stuff." Said Rin.

I walked over to Miku's cage, and simply walked in. I forgot to lock the door last time I came…I hope Haku and Neru don't find out. Welcome to being human. We make mistakes…a lot!

"Hello, Miku-chan!" I said. "Look what I brought!"

"Um, what is it?" She asked. Not this again… "Clear liquid?"

"It's w_ater._ Remember water from before you—" I stopped myself from saying anything else. "I mean…it's water. Actual water. Not like that murky stuff Haku-san calls water. This is _real_ water." I handed her the bottle.

"So you drink this stuff everyday?" Miku asked.

"Well, yeah." I explained. "I hate to bring up school during the summer, but we learned that you'd die without it."

"Then I won't drink anymore." Did I hear that correctly?

"Wait, what?"

"I can't stand this circus any longer…I-I know I've only been here a while, but it's so…argh, you won't understand! You won't understand until you've been through the darkest corners of this circus…you won't understand until you're the one who goes to sleep each night…crying herself to sleep…hoping to die…" I was silent. It's not that I didn't know what to say, but that was true—it was because I didn't have the voice to say it. I felt a weird thing in my throat, and it prevented me from saying anything. A weird feeling, like of guilt, even though I didn't do anything.

"M-Miku-chan…" She sighed.

"It can't be helped."

"Well…even though…" I couldn't say it, so I skipped to my next little train of thought. Let's hope this one doesn't crash. "You should still drink it. Please?" She shook her head. I didn't know what to do. "Drink the water."

"I can't…"

"Why can't you?!" I suddenly yelled. "It won't harm you! Just drink it! In fact, it's good for you!"

"I-I…" She gulped, and drank it anyway. She put the bottle down, and started crying. "It's…good…"

"Better then the weird stuff Haku-san gives to everyone as water?" She nodded.

"Thank…you…"

Eventually, she drank all of it. And I felt accomplished…somehow. We didn't see Haku or Neru for the rest of the day, so we just hung around and talked. I actually learned some stuff about Miku, that I couldn't have ever even guessed! I guess what they say is true; you can't judge a book by it's cover.

"I remember…that once I had a mother…and she would care for me, and it'd be the best feeling in the world. I had a sister, once, I think, but I don't remember anything about her. Then…" She paused. "One day…I was almost kidnapped."

"By the circus?" I asked.

"No, no. Well, maybe, but I couldn't have known. My sister and I were playing by the park, and on the way home, a guy appeared. He grabbed me, and my sister watched. He choked me, and it was the worse feeling in the world…but not anymore. Anyway, my sister ran away and abandoned me. She looked very scared, but I'm still not sure if that was the case. Maybe she hated me…but, luckily, a nearby lady found me, and she saved me from the guy. And since my sister nor my mother was there, she decided to take me home, until we found my mother. We never found her or my sister. I was six or something, and for the rest of my years, I grew up there. She eventually got married, and had two sons, and they were my brothers." She looked down.

"Miku-chan? You okay?"

"Y-Yeah…then one day we went to a circus. This circus. The Dark Woods. I met Rin-chan and Len-kun for the first time there. And then we went to see the show, but I got separated from my mother and brothers, and a tall woman—Haku-san, asked, 'Are you lost, little girl?' I answered, 'Yes, I am, could you please help me find my mother?' She nodded, and took me to a little white room. 'Wait here,' she said. She then came back, but not with my mother…" She stopped. I guessed she couldn't bare to talk about it anymore. She clutched her dress, and decided to continue. "She had a chainsaw. And without giving a second thought, she sawed my legs off. And I was conscious through all of it. That…_that_ was the worse feeling in the world. She stuck goat legs on me, and sewed them to my body. Another lady came in, and said 'I'm so sorry…but you're one of us now.' And from then on, I was here at this circus…but…I wouldn't have met you…if this never happened. In a way, my past has shaped who I am today…but I wish I could've lived a normal live like you and your friends, and other people."

"Miku-chan…I…I never knew all that about you. I only knew about you now, not what you were like before. Wow…" She shrugged.

"It's the past. It doesn't matter."

"But…_it does_…it kind of does! Who knows? If you somehow got out of this circus, you could meet your mother…s again, and your sister, and even your brothers! You could be connected again!"

"Yeah, I guess, but it'll never happen. I'm sure of it."

"You sure you're sure? Because the future is a very unpredictable thing." I looked up at the sky. "It's getting kind of late, I have to leave now. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Kassi-chan…"

That night, I couldn't think of anything else, but Miku and her backstory. It's weird, since you suddenly think a _LOT _more when you're drifting off to sleep. A lot. I wondered what Miku felt as Haku was tearing off her legs. I never knew that she could be that dangerous. I knew she was _dangerous_, but not _that _dangerous. Now that I think about it, she acts a lot different around me, then around anyone else at the circus. Maybe because I have the protection of friends, family, and an actual home…and they…were ripped from their families, and snuck into the circus. Wait! But back then, they still had friends and family! Right? Then how'd they end up there? Could I end up there? I hope not…

I wondered about Miku's past family, and I imagined her with her mother and sister, and with her other mother—although I'm not sure if I can call her a mother…for Miku—and her brothers. Wait. Hold on. My mother's Facebook friend used to have a daughter. I assumed she went off and left the nest, or went to college or something, but what if that daughter was Miku?! HAH. My theories are so weird. That's not even close.

**_But anything can happen…_**

* * *

I think I did a good job on this one. :)

At first I was like, "Oh, the beginning...DERP. It's not gonna be good." Then I decided to add Miku's backstory, and then BOOM.

Oh, and I added the month thing. Check out Chapter 1! (The ACTUAL chapter, not the Prologue) It has June on the top. This one is July, so it says July.

MINDBLOWN. XD

Okie, that's it~

Bai.

~Kassi-chan!~


	14. Chapter 13

-~-Chapter 13-~-

* * *

As I woke up the next morning, the first thing—okay the second thing that popped into my head was Miku's backstory. (The first thing was 'can I go back to bed?') You wouldn't have guessed anywhere close if you just looked at her. It makes me wonder about the others' backstories. Maybe Rin and Len were just a regular pair of twins. Maybe Kaito was a regular boy. Well, of course. They were just normal children back then, right? Normal kids…like me. Like me, and my friends, and my family. And what happened next? The circus happened. That circus took them and made them into deformed 'freaks'. And these 'freaks' were supposed to be there for peoples' entertainment. They were _destroyed _for peoples' entertainment. I'm honestly not sure how a regular human could bare to see one of their own kind be wrecked like that. I've seen it with my own eyes there.

_"Entertainment for sadists, more like." _I thought. It was true, in a way. I guess the other people just thought 'hey! A circus! We should go!' or they were just curious for the 'deformities'. 'Deformities? What?'

I decided not to think about it much, because I needed to think about other things. Like what to wear, and what to bring, stuff like that. I assumed that Haku and Neru would be busy…again…with their stuff and things, so now I brought along my own fancy dress, jewelry, and basically fancy stuff, for the show. It actually wasn't that much, and it fit perfectly into the huge bag I now bring everyday. The bag was full of food, water bottles, and my regular small bag stuff—so I don't bring that anymore—now it has a dress, bow, gloves, and a couple other little things in it. I checked the time, and I was a bit earlier then usual. So I _could've _slept a bit longer? Well, that's not fair!

Seeing that I was already early, I might as well get to work early. More time to talk and stuff, I guess, before the guests come in. Sometimes I wonder what the guests think of the performers. What each one thinks. Did they think they were brave? Were brought here against their will? Were tortured? If that, then they would've been right. But sometimes, other people think other things, so I just wondered, by the look in their eye.

Speaking of which, I heard that looking into someone's eyes could show everything about them. You just had to 'read' it right.  
I wonder what their eyes say.

I got to work, and greeted Rin and Len. Same old, same old. We just say different things. I realized that everyday is pretty much the same here. Although you do do some different things, and you do do say different things, and you do do go through different situations.

"Good morning Rin-chan! Len-kun!"

"Hello, Kassi-chan! You're up early today!" Rin greeted.

"A bit earlier then usual." Added Len.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not sure why," I laughed. "I usually sleep until the last possible second!"

"What's in the bag?" Rin asked.

"Oh—uh, you'll see!" I said.

"I see snacks." Len said. "Did you also bring more of that 'actual water' stuff? Oh, wait. You did."

"Why are you looking in there?!" I said. "That was supposed to be a surprise! I was gonna give it to everyone later."

Suddenly, I realized something. 'Everyone' was not just Miku, Rin, and Len. 'Everyone', as in all the performers, and myself, meant Miku, Rin, Len, _and Kaito_. He's the guy everyone forgets, and unfortunately, I was part of 'everyone who forgets'. Well, not anymore! I could go into town later and get some more. Now everyone-everyone will be included.

"Ooh! Snacks!" Rin said. "Can we have them now?! Please?"

"Actually, they're for later! I, uh…forgot something important, so I'll have to get it first, then I'll let you guys have them."

"Can you get them now?!" Rin asked.

"No, I'll have to wait until later…sorry!" She sighed.

"But I want them now—!" Len covered her mouth with his hand.

"We can wait." I smiled.

"Great! I brought enough so that everyone can have their choice—and seconds!" I left them, and went to Miku's cage.

_"So I'll have to get two bags of chips or whatever for Kaito and—wait. He eats…_people _meat though. He's a cannibal. Will he even eat the chips? But I'll also get him a bottle of water." _I thought. _"If I can, I'll even set up a little picnic! I-If we don't get caught by Haku or Neru, or maybe if we ask them for permission? But I bet they'll say no." _

I got over to Miku's cage, and she was laying on the floor.

_"Oh, she's sleeping…I shouldn't bother her…that lucky duck though. She gets to sleep…heh. I need a nap."_

I decided to walk past her. She deserves some rest. I walked over to the office, and peeked in. Haku was asleep at her desk. I didn't see Neru, I guessed she must be out on an errand or whatever. Another busy day it was. Another day I get to run the circus!

"Oh…hello, Kassidy-san!" It was Neru.

"Good morning, Neru-san." I smiled. "Uh, were you out on an errand or something?"

"Yes," She opened the door and walked in, I followed. She had a lot of bags, and they were grocery bags. "we've been really busy lately, and—HAKU-SAN!" Haku snorted as she woke up.

"E-Eh?!" She picked up her hat, and yawned. "Oh, you're back. And the kid's here too."

"Why were you sleeping?! You're supposed to be doing the paperwork!" Neru placed her bags on a nearby chair. Rin and Len were wrong! WE HAD CHAIRS! (But I wouldn't have sat in the office anyway…) She turned to me. "Kassidy-san, I'm sorry you had to see that…" She bowed. "Anyway, we've been really busy lately, as you probably already know. And you've been running the circus shows for the past couple days—I heard you're doing very well!"

"Yeah, I mean—" Oops! I remembered! I'm technically not supposed to tell! Since I didn't run it the 'regular Haku' way, and I ran the show my _own _way, Haku and Neru might get mad if they find out about that. Luckily, from what I've checked, they've always been in the office when I did a show. Thank god Neru didn't notice my weird mess-up!

"And the performers like you too!" I simply nodded. "I think you'll have to do the shows until we run out of paperwork…and maybe, if you want, even a_fter _we run out, you can still do the shows!"

"It's less work for us!" Haku got a glare from Neru, shutting her up. "I'll…get back to work."

"Yes, please do," Neru said. "And I have my own work!"

"Oh, that's okay. I'll let you do your work, and I guess I'll see you later." I said, and left. My totally honest opinion here: Haku is super-nice to me, but she's super mean when it comes to other people. And by that, I mean our fellow performers. She's nice to unsuspecting little kids, and the guests, but otherwise, her dark side shows on the performers. Neru—she's nice to everyone! She's like…_a mom. _Very much a mom. Nice sometimes, but she can nag you to do your homework! Or in this case, paperwork. Yeah, a mom.

I decided to walk back to the front, and help greet guests with Rin and Len. Hopefully they won't mind my company. And we could talk, too, I guess. I walked past Miku's cage, and I got a bit suspicious. She hadn't moved at all.  
Wait—  
Yesterday, she talked about 'crying herself to sleep, and wanting to die every night' or something like that. I had that weird thing in my throat again. I gulped. Had she…killed herself?!  
I had no choice—I had to check. Hopefully, she's alright.

I opened the door, and…  
Thank god! She's alive!  
…But…she was crying.

"M-Miku-chan?! What happened? Are you okay?"

"Huh…? Kassi-chan…oh…I'm fine." She said, and smiled. I clearly saw it was a fake smile.

"Miku-chan, you don't have to smile for me. You should just show your real emotions, it's better for the both of us." She sat up. She was silent for a moment, and pulled out something shiny.  
She pulled out a knife. I sat in shock, and I couldn't say anything. I wanted to, but I couldn't! No words would come out! I just stuttered like a idiot. "M-M-M-Miku-chan! What are you doing?!"

"Kassi-chan…just…" She grabbed my stiff hand. She put the knife in my hand. "Kill me and get it over with. This is my wish. I wish to die."

"W-What?! NO!" I threw the knife, and it flew out of the cage, and landed, still in the tent, but out of reach for Miku in the cage. "I can't, and I won't!"

"W-Why won't you?!"

"Because…" I took a huge gulp, because the thing was back. "because you're my friend! And you're wonderful and beautiful, and you're just an amazing friend!" I suddenly hugged her. "And I don't want to say good bye forever. Dying isn't something you can just do, and undo. It's a permanent thing, and, even if you regret it like crazy, you can't take it back." My shoulder felt wet. Oh. So the term 'a shoulder to cry on' is _real, _not just in movies. I mean, I should know that it exists, but I honestly never felt or seen something like that in real life. "Miku-chan…please don't do it. Promise me, that when I leave today, you won't pick up the knife ever again!" She nodded.

"Okay…" We separated.

"Unless it's to cut some cheese." I winked.

"Well, I did like cheese." She said, and wiped her tears. "But we don't have any here." I laughed.

"Do you want me to _get _some cheese?"

"Nah, it's okay. Don't bother to." I shrugged.

"Well, I was going to go out to the store later anyway. I have to pick up something…it's a surprise, but I could get you some if you really wanted it."

"Meh, don't worry. I said _liked. _After I once threw up from a bad piece, I didn't like it very much any more."

"Pfft, okay then!" There's the Miku I know! "Do you have anything you want to eat?" She thought for a while.

"Hmm. I'm not even sure. All we get served here is some weird stuff." She gestured to the corner, where a bowl full of brown things was placed. I eyed it for a while.

"Uh…this is dog food."

"Really? Well…then…all I really eat is the stuff you bring me."

"Miku-chan, you can't survive on Pocky! I can bring some actual food! In fact—the little secret I planned was a picnic! I'll bring some actual food! We'll have it after the show today!"

"A picnic? Sounds exciting." I could've sworn I heard her stomach growl. "I haven't had some actual _human _food in a while." I smiled.

"Great! I'll go get the food now, and we'll have it later!" I got up, and walked out, and down to the supermarket.

I wondered what to get, since they've hadn't eaten any actual food in a while, and I didn't know what they would like. So I just took a wild guess, and had something easy, and some of my favorite foods. I ordered some dumplings, rice, and some ramen, and I would pick it up later for our picnic. I also ordered some desserts, like pudding, strawberry shortcake (my favorite!), and a couple of cupcakes too.

"Thank you! I'll pick it up later." I thanked the guy who took my order, and left. Wait—how was I going to pay for all this?!  
I guess I'll have to spend my saved birthday money…that I _haven't _already used on anime thingies. Oh well, it's enough, I suppose. I'll have to go find it, luckily, I was going to pay him later.

I ran back to my house, using the back door, and I could sneak back up to my room without my mother noticing. I rummaged through my drawers, and…FINALLY! I found it, and snuck back, down, out the door, and ran back to the forest.  
Like a ninja!

And I was back in time to prepare for the show. I had the picnic all planned, and I would go to get the food after this show, and then we'd have another show, and after that, we'll have the picnic! I can't wait! They'll actually have some fun here, instead of…other stuff. Hey, it technically _is _a circus, so why not have some real fun? That's what circuses were meant for anyway.

* * *

Hai gais!

I'm going to try and update as much as possible, because on July 8th, I'll be going to California, and I won't be able to update...

I might even write more then the regular old schedule of every Friday. o3o

I think I will... o-o

Anyway, point being, is that this week, and next week, you'll have a bunch of new chapters to read! :3

CONGRATS. XD

~Kassi-chan!~


	15. Chapter 14

-~-Chapter 14-~-

* * *

I was heading back to the circus, after getting the food. The show was over, and people were starting to head out. It was around six o'clock PM, and I guess around a reasonable dinnertime. I'm guessing that Haku and Neru were still in the office, doing that huge pile of work…or sleeping. Either way would work, because, well, we'd all be in some big trouble if they found out. No one was coming in, and everyone was coming out, so we'd be alone for now.

"Hey, guys! I'm back!" I waved at Rin and Len, who were about ready to leave their post for the night, with my one arm that wasn't carrying all the food.

"Whoa…" Rin stared at the pile of random food. "Did you really buy all of that for us?"

"Yeah!"

"What about those?" Len pointed to the bag. I forgot I had those…

"Oh—I guess I'll save them for tomorrow then. " I put the pile down, and got out a red and white checkered blanket, that I had bought from a local store before I went to get the food. I laid it down, and started putting out the food. "Um…can you guys do me a favor?" They both nodded. "Can you go get Miku-chan and Kaito-kun?"

"K-Kaito-kun?" Rin asked. "You want _him _to come to your little picnic?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "he doesn't seem too bad."

"Well, I doubt he's going to eat anything. Unless you have human arms."

"Uh…I have steak. _Cooked_." I said. "I also have soup—which miraculously didn't spill—rice, and a bunch of other stuff I really don't remember! Besides…" I looked around. "He's 'that guy' who everyone ignores or forgets. I don't want him to be 'that guy'. I want everyone to know that their existence is known."

"Hmm." Len shrugged with his one shoulder. "Okay."

"Great! Thank you guys so much!" They waddled away, and I continued setting up.

A couple minutes later, everyone was outside, and I was completely done. Miku, Rin, Len, and Kaito walked over.

"Ta-daaaa~!" I chirped. "How's it look?"

"It looks…delicious!" Rin said.

"I haven't seen food like that in a long time." Miku stated.

"Why am I here?" Mumbled Kaito. I made a mental note to myself to answer that later.

"Well…let's eat!" Len said.

"Have all you want!" I said, "I'm pretty sure I bought a bit too much, so fill yourselves up, until you're sure you're going to explode!" I got some fried rice, and started eating it. When I was almost done with that single bowl, I heard a familiar voice.

"KASSI-CHAAAAAN!" I turned, and it was Chiyo's voice. Aimi, Mei, and Aki were also there.

"Wha—what are you guys doing here?!" I stood up and hug-attacked them. "Mei-chan! I thought you were in Tokyo!"

"Yeah…about that…turns out I was going back on July _fifth_, not the _fifteenth."_ She chuckled. "I guess I lost track of the date."

"Eh, don't worry about it! It's summer! Everyone loses track of the date. Plus, you're here now!"

"Oh, and remember when we said we'd even drag her here?" Aimi gestured to Aki, who was glued to her back. "We did." Aki peeked over her shoulder, and squealed.

"THERE ARE THE CLOWNS!" She snapped back to her old position. Then she peeked back, slowly. "Heeeey…that one's kinda cute!" She said loudly. "If…you took away those weird peel-y things."

"AKI-CHAN!" I whisper-yelled. Chiyo facepalmed, and Aimi and Mei sighed. "You know what those 'weird peel-y' things' are?!"

"Nope."

"They're acid burns!"

"Wait, what?" She was the only one with a confused face, as the others were completely shocked.

"Acid burns?!" Aimi yelped. "They use acid here?!"

"Yeah, if they 'misbehave' or whatever." I said. "They get acid thrown on them."

"That's a bit…messed up." Chiyo gulped.

"Who would do that?!" Mei squeaked.

"I don't know! Haku-san and Neru-san, the people who own the circus!" I yelled.

"Do you have to do it to them?" Chiyo asked.

"Oh, god no!" I yelped. "I never touched that junk—and I never will! I have some human sense."

"I still don't get it." Aki said. "Why am I here, and what's going on?!"

We had to explain it to her v_ery _slowly, but she eventually got it. I'm not saying that she's dumb—she's actually quite smart. In some things. Like evil plans, boy bands, anime, and manga. It, uh…takes her quite some time to figure reality out though.

"Oh…EW."

"Now you get it?" Aimi asked. "And would you please get off my back?!"

"No—! She's just gonna go on someone else's back!" Mei said.

"No I'm not! I'm my own woman!" Aki said, and she stood up tall. "Whoa, what?! The clown is one person?! With two heads?!" She tried to run away, but we all grabbed her arms, and yanked her back.

"Oh! Hey, should I introduce you guys?"

"Sure!" They all said in unison—except Aki, who responded with a 'nope!'. But we ignored her.

"Hey everyone!" I said, "I'd like you to meet my friends, Aimi-chan, Aki-chan, Chiyo-chan, and Mei-chan!" I turned to them. "And these are Miku-chan, Kaito-kun, Rin-chan, and Len-kun." That followed with a wave of hi's, hey's, and other greetings. The only two who stayed silent were Kaito and Aki. Aki eventually warmed up, but Kaito was as cold as the corpses he eats. Everyone accepted one another, and at the end of the day, (literally) we became friends. Over a nice dinner!

"This is really good!" Aki said. "Did you order from that new place?"

"Yeah. And please don't talk with your mouth full!" I said. Some rice fell from her mouth.

"Sorry!"

"She does that more then you think." Aimi explained. "You'll…get used to it…?" Miku chuckled.

"We should do this more often!" She suggested.

"Yeah! Rin-sama's seal of approval!" Rin declared.

"Wait—what?" Len asked. "When did _you _become queen?"

"Circus Queen! I am Rin-sama! YOU MUST BOW DOWN!"

"Well, I can't! I'm kind of attached to you, and that means _you'd _have to bow, and I don't think you can bow down to yourself!" Len said. "And that must mean I'm king!"

"HAH!" Rin laughed haughtily. "Never in a thousand years, peasant!"

"THEN I AM THE QUEEN OF…uh…NOT-CIRCUS PEOPLE!" Aki declared.

"I'm the princess!" I quickly said.

"I'm…the other princess?" Aimi said.

"I'm the king!" Chiyo did a finger mustache on herself.

"And I shall be Mei-sama! THE GODDESS OF AWESOMENESS!" We had a huge (and weird!) debate about our 'royal positions'.

"And…Miku-chan can be the princess of the circus! And Kaito-kun can be the prince!" I suggested.

"The Queen is stuffed!" Aki announced. We all groaned, which is to say, 'me too'.

"Wait! I have an idea! That is, if you guys are up for it…how about we perform a show for them?" I asked.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Miku said. "Your friends are very nice…"

"Aww! Thanks!" Aimi said.

"You're nice too, you know!" Chiyo said. Miku smiled.

"So…let's go to the main tent!" I paused. "If we can all stand up."

Later, we all were in the main tent. My friends were chatting amongst themselves, and the performers and I went backstage and got ready.

"We'll do it like a regular show! And don't worry if you mess up or whatever—they're used to it. Because all of us mess up insanely all the time!" I smiled.

"Good luck!" Mei yelled from outside.

"Okay? Okay. Let's go." I ran outside, still in my normal clothes—because my friends don't really care what clothes I'm in for a show—and opened the show up. "Ladies and royals!" Aki laughed. "Get ready…for the one, the only, the Dark Woods Circus!" The performers ran out, all with actual, _genuine_ smiles. It was the first time I've seen Kaito or Len smile before. Maybe I've seen Len before, and forgot, but it was _definitely_ the first for Kaito. My friends all clapped and cheered. Ironically, the loudest was Aki! Rin and Len were up first, with their crazy juggling, then we went to Kaito, and his amazing dancing. Miku wanted to go last today for some reason, so I let her. When she walked up onstage, loud, cheery pop music blasted through.

"OH MY GOD!" Aki yelled. "I KNOW THIS ONE!"

"You know _all _of them!" Chiyo said.

"She literally spends all day listening to music! Or watching anime!" Mei said.

"Now…please shut up and enjoy the show!" Aimi told her. It was the one that nearly everyone knew. It's name? PonPonPon! I bet Miku chose it so that they'd know the song. I honestly couldn't really hear Miku at all, because we were all singing at the top of our lungs too. But hey—we had fun!

Suddenly, there was loud feedback from the microphone.

"Ow!" Aki yelped. "What was that?!"

"Miku-chan!" I ran up onto the stage. She had wobbled a bit, and was almost toppled over. I grabbed her arms and supported her up. "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know!" She panted. Meanwhile, Chiyo, Aimi, Mei, followed by Aki, hopped off into the ring, and onto the stage.

"Don't worry!" Chiyo said. "We're here."

"Even if we just met, friends are friends, right?" Aimi said.

"Let's bring her backstage." Mei said. We helped her backstage, and we didn't really have chairs anywhere besides the office, so she just sat on the ground.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I-I don't know!" She said. "I really don't know!" She clutched her stomach.

"Did you eat too much?" Aki said. "I did that once…" Miku shook her head.

"Before I came here, I always had that much—sometimes more!" She smiled a bit, embarrassed, but that quickly faded, after she toppled over again. "But now…I think since my stomach hasn't had actual food in a while…"

"Oh no!" I said. "I didn't know…"

"It's not your fault…"

"But if I had known…" She clutched it harder.

"Don't worry about me." She panted. "I'll be fine." Apparently, Aki had disappeared, because she came back with a bucket.

"Oh, that's convenient." Aimi said.

"Just use it, okay?" Chiyo patted her back.

"We'll leave if you want us to!" Mei said. She once said that seeing barf made her want to barf, so I guess she was planning to leave anyway. Miku's clutch tightened, and eventually she just gave up, and vomited into the bucket.

"NOT IT!" Aki randomly yelled, putting her finger on her nose. "I'm not cleaning it up!"

"Me neither!" Mei said.

"Nope!" Aimi said.

"And that leaves Kassi-chan!" Chiyo said, and put her finger on her nose.

"Oy. You people." I rolled my eyes. "It's okay, I don't care. Wait—where do I even put this?"

"J-Just put it in the garbage…we have lots of buckets." She smiled weakly. "Thank you." I nodded, held my breath (just in case), and quickly ran to a garbage can, and threw it out.

"What was that?" Rin asked.

"Huh? Oh…Miku-chan threw up. She said her stomach couldn't handle the food, because she didn't have real food in a while."

"Weird." Len said. "We're fine!" I shrugged. I assumed it was because they actually had some of that dog food stuff, but I didn't say it aloud. Miku, on the other hand, was practically starving.

I ran back to the tent, where my friends were comforting Miku. I had to say, I know my friends and I warmed up quickly to new people, but usually that was around a couple days or so. This was super-fast. Miku looked up at me.

"I told them." She said.

"Told them what?" I asked.

"Everything. About the circus."

"Oh. _Oh._" Well, I guess they'd figure out anyway. Miku turned back to them.

"But Kassi-chan's way of running the show is the best. No torture, and we can do what we want to do, not what they want us to do." I smiled. I didn't know I was that good of a 'ringmaster'. I was just going with what felt right!

So now all my best friends know one another. And they've warmed up to each other incredibly fast, too! I wondered what strange things would come next. And everyone would be there to watch.

* * *

Gomenasai!

I'm not updating until I get back from California. :P

So you're stuck with a random cliffhanger!

ENJOY! XD

Bai for now!

I'll see chu when I get back~

~Kassi-sama!~

(Le changed it. For now!)

(PS, I'm leaving on July 8th or 7th...I forgot. I lost track of the date. Like Mei-chan! :P

But I'm coming back sometime in late August. Okay? Okay.)

(And I didn't even read TFIOS...but I plan to! Don't kill me.)


End file.
